Konoha's Greatest Ninja
by The King and his Horse
Summary: Uzumaki Naruto was always looked down upon by Konohagakure no Sato, but he's determined to make everyone acknowledge him. But, can he succeed? AU
1. Uzumaki Naruto

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. But I wish it was.

A/N: Well, I decided I'd take a break from my other story, and write this one. I'll see how it goes, and if it does well enough, I'll continue. Pairings are yet undecided. Vote now!

-Uzumaki Naruto-

He was sick of everyone always looking down at him with scorn in their eyes. He was sick of everyone always hating him for something didn't even do. Most importantly, he was sick of trying to be happy. He had abandoned that long ago, along with any hopes of making friends. Now, he dedicated his every waking moment to training. He no longer chased after his crush, Haruno Sakura. In fact, she became almost non-existent in the mind of Uzumaki Naruto. He had long ago realized that it was stupid to chase after someone who only proceeded to pound the living crap out of him. He was now, more than ever, bent on becoming the Hokage.

……………

"Alright class," began a young man with tanned skin and a scar across the bridge of his nose. "Today is the day you all take the test to graduate from the Academy and become genin. If you should pass, you will receive this Konoha hitai-ate as proof that you're qualified genin. Mizuki-sensei and I shall start to call you in one-by-one to take your test. The theme is, bunshin."

……………

"Uzumaki Naruto!" The said boy walked into the back testing room, where he saw two faces smiling at him warmly.

"Alright, Naruto. Any time you're ready," said Mizuki-sensei.

Naruto made the hand seals necessary to perform the jutsu.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A puff of chakra smoke, and standing next to Naruto were four more Naruto's, each an exact replica.

"Very good, Naruto. You've passed. Congratulations. I knew you could do it," said the smiling tanned man known as Iruka-sensei. Naruto simply received the hitai-ate, bowed to the two chunin, and exited the test room. As he returned to his seat, he caught a certain pink haired kunoichi looking at him. She wasn't necessarily looking at him out of disgust, but more out of awe.

_'That baka… he did it after all…'_

……………

Naruto was proud of himself. He was walking down the streets of Konoha, proudly sporting his hard earned hitai-ate upon his forehead. He decided that he'd do his 'new' training routine from that day forward. After all, a genin needs to stay in top shape if he wants to be the Hokage someday… As he walked down the street, he wasn't watching where he was going, and bumped into and knocked over Sakura. She promptly began yelling at him.

"Baka! Why don't you watch where you're going?"

"Why don't you, forehead girl?" replied Naruto, his eyes suddenly freezing over. The joy he'd felt moments ago was now gone. She'd ruined it. That was why he hated her with every fiber of his being. Stupid forehead-baka ruined everything.

"What did you say to me?" screamed Sakura.

"I said, why don _you_ watch where you're going. Now move. I've gotta go train."

This left Sakura speechless. He'd been like this for almost three months now, and yet, how easily she forgot… She watched him walk off… She was again left speechless by his beautiful blonde hair, glowing golden in the sunlight…

_'What am I thinking? That's Naruto-baka! Ugh!'_

"Conceited, no-good, self-centered, attention-seeking, goody-goody, smart ass…" muttered Naruto, under his breath. Oh how he would hate to be on the same team as her…

The very girl that he would've gladly died for only months ago, now filled him with disgust. Seeing her chase after Sasuke like that… No matter how many times Sasuke would reject her, Sakura would never give up…

He came upon his usual training ground, a fair distance away from Konoha Gates. However, he was surprised to see someone else was there as well. And this, too, filled him with disgust.

"Ino," he simply stated. He tried to keep the obvious disgust out of his voice, but to no avail. This was just what he needed, another Sasuke fan girl.

"Naruto? What are you doing here?" asked the blonde kunoichi. It's not like she knew him personally or anything. Just his name. That, and the fact that he was hated by almost the entire village. She, however, felt no resentment towards him. She had no reason to. Her parents were one of the few in the village that acknowledged Naruto's existence.

"I'm here to… never mind. I'll go somewhere else."

_'That was strange… I wonder what's wrong with him?'_

…………...

Everywhere he went, Naruto met up with somebody or another. On the riverbank outside of Konoha Gates was Nara Shikamaru. He didn't particularly dislike Shikamaru. He just wanted to be alone. He also came across Kiba, Hinata, and Chouji throughout Konoha. In the end, Naruto decided he'd settle for going to Ichiraku.

……………

"Itadakimasu," Naruto said quietly. He loved ramen. Especially the ones from Ichiraku. Too bad he had nobody to share this with…

"Mind if I sit down?" said a familiar voice.

"Ah! Mizuki-sensei! Of course, of course!"

……………

"Let's see… Mizuki-sensei told me to meet him here," muttered Naruto to himself. He looked around the desolate clearing in the forest. There was a lone shack, long abandoned. "Oh well. I might as well start training." And with that, Naruto opened the Scroll of Seals…

---

"-pant- -pant- Man… This jutsu is harder to master than I thought… But I can't give up! Mizuki-sensei said that if I learned this, I'd be a shoe-in for the Hokage role!"

"Naruto!" came a voice that the blonde recognized. He turned to find his academy sensei, Umino Iruka, standing on a branch above him. Iruka deftly jumped and landed on the ground, and looked at Naruto, and…

_Here it comes… man oh man… He's gonna beat the living crap out of me…_

Smiled?

"I found you, you little rascal. Come on, Naruto. That scroll contains forbidden jutsus. You shouldn't be looking at that. Let's go return it to Hokage-sama, and I'm sure you won't be punished." He held his hand out for the tired Naruto, who was sitting on the ground, panting heavily.

"No! I can't give up yet! I have to become Hokage! And Mizuki-sensei told me the only way for me to become one is to master this scroll!"

_What? Mizuki… But why would he?…_

Naruto stood up, dusting himself. He was covered with scratches and bruises, but still stood. That's when Iruka saw a glint of steel in the moonlight. Many glints, in fact. He knocked Naruto over, and was prepared to be impaled by the incoming shuriken and kunai. He was struck, and the force threw him back against the wall of the shack.

"Well, well. Would you look at that? Looks like the fool has a soft spot for that demon bastard after all," came taunting voice recognized easily by Naruto.

"Mi-Mizuki-sensei?" said Naruto, questioningly. It was late at night, and was hard to see, but the voice made it obvious who it was. Why did he talk about a demon? What was going on?

"Heh. I can see by the look on your face that you're obviously confused," began the usually good-natured chunin. This time, however, his voice was full of malice and hatred. "I'll tell you though, Naruto. You know about the Kyubi no Yoko that attacked Konohagakure over twelve years ago, don't you?"

"Y-yeah… But what does that have to do with me?" asked Naruto, the confused look on his face slowly turning into a worried look.

"Well, ever since then, Sandaime-sama had passed a decree, one that was known by everyone… Everyone, that is, except you."

"What? What decree is this? And why am _I_ the only one who doesn't know about this?" yelled the blonde ninja, slowly becoming agitated.

"Mizuki! Stop! You know that's forbidden! To speak of it would bring upon you great trouble!" yelled the tanned chunin, pulling out the kunai and shuriken, wincing with every weapon he pulled out.

"Heh. I'll tell you the decree," the white-haired man continued, ignoring the other chunin. "Not that it matters… The truth is, Uzumaki Naruto… The reason the entire village of Konohagakure no Sato has hated you all your life… is because… YOU are the vessel of the Kyubi no Yoko! That's right! Everyone thinks that Yondaime-sama died in battle, slaying the Kyubi, but instead, he sealed it inside of you!"

He didn't know what to think. _The_ Yondaime Hokage-sama, the very man he respected and aspired to be, had been the source of all his troubles? He suddenly felt betrayed. The very man he had respected all his life… had caused him to go through life as a loner… He was angry. Angry at Yondaime-sama for causing him to go through his life as a loner… He was sad. Sad that he _had_ gone through life as a loner. He also felt, strangely, proud. Proud that _he_ had been chosen as a vessel for the Kyubi. All these emotions and more swirled around, his mind became a blur, and failed to sense the incoming danger in the shape of a fuma shuriken…

"NARUTO LOOK OUT!"

Naruto felt somebody step right in front of him. A look of utter pain flashed across this man's face…

"I-Iruka-sensei…" whimpered Naruto. He could see the chunin in front of him smiling, yet, he was crying. "W-why?…"

"Tch. Looks like you're not as weak as you look, Iruka. No matter. I _will_ kill that Kyubi brat, no matter what."

"I-I'm sorry… Naruto… The pain of growing up… without any parents… I know very well how painful solitude can be… And yet, I did nothing for you… I too grew up without any parents… And yet, I did nothing for you. You and I, Naruto… We're very similar. And yet, I stood by, letting you be harassed day in, day out… Not stopping them… I'm sorry, Naruto… I should've been a better sensei… I should've treated you like a brother, like I'd always believed…" Tears were freely flowing down Iruka's face. Naruto merely continued to stare at the chunin who had just saved him. His mind still did not register what had just happened.

"You… you knew?" said Naruto, barely above a whisper.

"Yes… and I'm sorry, Naruto. I should've been kinder to you…" But Naruto didn't hear any more. He merely jumped back, away from Iruka, and dashed off, tears falling down his face.

"Hahaha! You see that, Iruka? Those eyes… Yes… The demon has awoken inside of him… And _I_ shall kill him, and take the scroll! With that, I will even be able to match that fool Sandaime-sama. And there's nothing you can do to stop me, Iruka!"

……………

Naruto was sitting amongst the roots of a large tree, sobbing. He had known all along? He even said so himself that he considered Naruto as a brother… and yet… Why?

"Naruto!" came that voice that Naruto oh so easily recognized.

"Iruka-sensei!"

"Ah! There you are. Are you all right? Good. Come, Naruto. Give me the scroll. It's too dangerous to walk around alone with that scroll with Mizuki loose. Here. I'll take it back to Hokage-sama."

"I… alright, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto began to hand over the scroll…

-BAM-

Iruka was sent flying by a kick to his stomach, and crashed against a tree. He fell, coughing up blood.

"Wh-why, Naruto? How'd you know?" the 'Iruka' disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke, and standing there was Mizuki.

"I didn't. That was meant for Iruka-sensei, for treating me like that all this time. But now that it's you…" But Naruto didn't finish his sentence. Instead, he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

_'What speed… That must be the chakra of the Kyubi…'_

And almost the instant Naruto disappeared, Iruka crashed through the bushes.

"Naruto!" he yelled, searching for the genin.

"Don't try, Iruka. He's long gone. And besides, the look in his eyes… You saw them. He hates you now, Iruka. You never should've told him. Now he'll come kill you for sure."

"Even so," replied the tanned chunin, "I still respect Naruto too much to give up. These last few months… He made great progress. Even more than I could've hoped for when I was his age…"

"ADMIT IT! YOU HATE THE KYUBI!"

"Yes… I admit it. I _do_ hate the Kyubi…" Unbeknownst to both chunin, Naruto was sitting behind the very tree that Mizuki was holding onto for support. Upon hearing the confession of his sensei, his eyes flared red, his anger rising.

_'So he lied to me after all… Just like everyone else…'_

"But," continued Iruka, "Naruto isn't the Kyubi. Rather, he is the _vessel_. He is the hero who helped defeat the Kyubi, not the Kyubi itself. And I swear, if you try to hurt Naruto, you'll have to go through me, first."

"Heh. Fine. I _was_ going to let you live, but I guess that's out of the question now…" Mizuki drew another fuma shuriken hanging from his back. He began to spin it, and prepared to throw it. He threw it, but as it flew through the air, straight for Iruka's chest, Naruto jumped out of the bushes, taking the shuriken directly in the chest. Both chunin gasped as the Naruto who took the hit disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke.

"Don't you _dare_ touch Iruka-sensei. If you do… I'll… I'll… I'll _KILL YOU_!"

"Hah! What are you going to do, Kyubi-baka? Do you forget so easily that I am a chunin, while you a lowly genin?"

"Bring it, jerk. KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

_'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? That must've been what he was practicing before I found him…'_

Instantly, the clearing around Mizuki, Naruto, and Iruka were completely full of Naruto's, many on trees and braches, and even more on the ground. Mizuki looked around in fear, cold sweat of terror forming on his forehead.

"Come on, what's the matter? You're not scared of a lowly genin, are you?" taunted all the Naruto's.

-pow- -crack- -bam- -crunch-

……………

_'Yes… He's turned out to be a fine shinobi, Arashi. Your son… He'll surpass us all. I will keep my promise to you, and raise him to be the best shinobi ever, just like his old man.'_


	2. Team 7

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. But if it was, this story would be the actual thing.

A/N: Well, I realize that last chapter may not have been the best thing I've ever written. Don't worry, it'll get better (I hope). In the mean time, please vote on your favorite pairings (unless it's overly used like HinaNaru or SasuSaku).

-Team 7-

"Baka-sensei! How dare he keep a lady waiting so long!" screamed a frustrated pink haired girl. Currently, she, Haruno Sakura, had been waiting for her sensei for over three hours, along with Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke.

"Hey, pinkie," said Naruto, anger and malice laced within his voice, "why don't you quiet down?" And with that, he returned to staring out the window of the Academy classroom, glaring at all the villagers that passed by.

"Grr… Naruto! You're-" But before Sakura could finish her threat, the classroom door slid open, and in walked a silver haired man, a navy blue hitai-ate covering his left eye. He had on a mask, and only his right eye showed.

"Hey guys," he said, his eyes coming together to create an upside-down U shape.

"YOU'RE LATE!" burst Sakura, pointing her right index finger accusingly at the jonin who had just arrived.

"Hmm… My first impression of you guys… I hate you guys," said the jonin, his eyes still in the upside-down U shape.

……………

"Well, why don't you guys tell me more about yourselves?" said the jonin instructor, sitting on the rail on the roof of the Academy. "Tell me your name, your likes, dislikes, and your goals and dreams."

"Shouldn't you tell us something about you?" said the raven haired Uchiha.

"Yeah! You should go first to show us how to do it!" the pink haired kunoichi added.

"Hmm… My name is Hatake Kakashi. Well, I have a lot of things I like. My dislikes are… Well, my dreams for the future, well, that's really none of your business. Now, let's start with the quiet, sulky one on the right."

"WHAT? ALL WE FOUND OUT WAS YOUR NAME!" exploded the pink haired kunoichi. Ignoring her, the Uchiha boy proceeded.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't _like_ anything. I dislike a lot of things. I have no dreams, but instead, a goal that I will make a reality. It is to kill a certain man, and to revive my clan."

'Hmm… It's no surprise that he's still seeking revenge…' "Alright, then. Now, the pink haired one." 

"Well, my name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are…" She glanced over at Sasuke shyly, and blushed. "My dreams for the future…" She looked over at Sasuke again, and squealed. "My dislike… Naruto."

"Very well. Now, you, in the orange."

"Uzumaki Naruto. I like training and Ichiraku Ramen. I dislike the three minutes I have to wait for the instant ramen cup, and the entire village of Konoha. My dream, is to become Hokage."

'_Hmm… He dislikes the entire village… yet, he wants to become Hokage? How strange…'_ "Very well, then. Here, take this," Kakashi said, taking out three packets of paper, handing one to each genin. "Meet tomorrow at the location at the allotted time. We will be doing a survival training."

"But Kakashi-sensei," complained Sakura, "we already did lots of survival training in the Academy."

"Hmm… I shouldn't tell you this, because if I did, you'd all freak out and not even try," said the solemn faced jonin.

"No way," said Naruto, surprising everyone. "I've come this far. No way I'll give up now."

"Very well, then. This is not only survival training, but also a test. Out of all the 27 genin, only 9 may remain genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This means that only one third of the three of you may become genin."

_'O-one… third? That means that somebody will drop tomorrow for sure, and I know it won't be me nor Sasuke-kun… This is a test of my love!'_

"Oh, and don't eat breakfast, unless you enjoy throwing up." And with another smile, the jonin disappeared into thin air.

"Sasuke-kun, now that we're done, do you want to-"

"No."

"Oh… Don't even think about it, Naruto!" But, much to the pink kunoichi's surprise, she found herself standing alone, both Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto having left.

……………

A/N: Chapter two! A quickie. I promise the action/romance/whatever will come soon. Please vote for pairings, and COMMENT my work!


	3. Pairing OptionsSuggestions

Disclaimer: Naruto isn't mine. So sad.

A/N: Well, because people have requested a few options for the pairings voting, I will throw a couple out there, along with two requests. This is more of an options page than a story. Sorry. The options are:

Naruto x Sakura (Not used as often as I'd like)

Ino x Naruto (Ino-chan!)

Naruto x Tenten (Request)

Naruto x Temari (Request)

…

Sasuke x Hinata (Too rare)

Sasuke x Temari (O.o)

…

Shikamaru x Temari (Again, not as often as I'd like)

Shikamaru x Sakura (Maybe… just _maybe_ possible)

…

Kiba x Hinata (Me likey)

Kiba x Ino (Is it even possible?)

Kiba x Sakura (I've seen a couple…)

…

Neji x Ino (Hmm…)

Neji x Tenten (Please don't hurt me… I know I said no overused couples, but…)

…

Shino x Ino (Haha. Rhymes)

Shino x Hinata (?)

…

That's all I can come up with. Keep in mind, however, that these are only _SUGGESTIONS_. Don't take these too seriously. I was half asleep writing this. However, I suggest NaruxSaku or NaruxIno (wtf?) just because I think it's cute (and yes, I'm a guy calling something CUTE! OMG?) So yeah. Vote please!


	4. Nami no Kuni

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, so far, from what I've been seeing, there's a lot of Naruto x Tenten and Naruto x Temari; also, a fair number of Naruto x Ino. Note, however, that I cannot please you all, and as an author, I may do what seems to be right. The pairings are still being developed, and I still need your opinions. Please, don't forget the poor Hyuga girl.

P.S.: It has been brought to my attention that some observant people have noticed I spell chunin and jonin differently from the translations. Reason? It is because when it is written in Japanese, it is written like that (chunin and jonin; only one character), but it is pronounced as chuunin and jounin. Therefore, I decided I'd write it as chunin and jonin. I hope this made sense. Now, on with the story!

-Nami no Kuni-

The golden rays of sunlight slowly crept into the bedroom of a certain raven-haired boy. His eyes fluttered open slowly. He lay in bed, thinking about what he was supposed to do today… That's right. Another mission. What was it this time? Would he and his team have to go find another lost pet? Plant more rice in the paddies? Ugh. He was so sick and tired of these baby missions. He wanted something that actually required him to use his skills. Otherwise, how would he kill _him_?

……………

It had been several weeks since they'd passed the bell test. Apparently, it was actually a test of teamwork. They'd passed it when Sakura, who'd been tied to the post, was offered food by both her teammates, despite Kakashi-sensei's warnings that if they did, they'd all fail. Boy were they surprised.

"Let's see… What should you three do today? Whitewash a fence? Clear a rich nobleman's garden of weed? Hmm…" muttered the Hokage, looking over the D-ranked missions list.

"GAH! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! I'VE DONE TOO MANY STUPID CHORES! IF THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A NINJA, THEN I NEVER SHOULD'VE BECOME ONE!" screamed the pink haired kunoichi. Everyone stared at her in shock. This was totally unlike her!

"Pipe down, forehead-baka. You shouldn't talk to Hokage-sama like that," came Naruto's cold voice.

Observing this only made the tan chunin sad. _'After all those years of neglect… This is what happens to him… I'm so sorry, Naruto…'_

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" came the screeching reply from the pink haired girl. Just then, the doors opened to the Missions Hall and in came Team 8, consisting of Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino, and Hyuga Hinata. Their red-eyed sensei, Yuhi Kurenai, smirked at the scene before her. There was a pink haired girl, about ready to beat the living crap out of a frowning blonde kid, with a sulking raven haired boy off to the side, with their silver haired jonin sensei completely immersed in his perverted orange book.

"Ah. I'm guessing you've received my message, then, Kurenai-san?" came the calm voice of the Hokage.

"Of course, Hokage-sama," replied the genjutsu mistress.

"Now, all we need to wait for is-" But before Sarutobi could finish his sentence, the third team came walking in, with a furious Ino yelling at a scowling Shikamaru, followed by a pleasantly plump Choji munching on his bag of potato chips. Overlooking them all was a bored looking, cigarette smoking scruffy looking man.

"Well then, now that we're all assembled, I'd like to tell you all why I called you here," came the calm voice of Sandaime. "Well, we've had new from the newly allied nation, Nami no Kuni, that a man by the name of Gato has been trying to take over the country. Although small, the country is full of natural resources, and is one of the richest nations amongst the elemental nations. Therefore, we've decided to lend them our hand in protecting their home. You three teams, along with your jonin sensei, are to go to Nami no Kuni and protect them for as long as you're needed."

"But Hokage-sama," began the pink haired kunoichi, having forgotten about the blonde boy, "doesn't Nami no Kuni have its own shinobi village?"

"Ah… Although rich, the country is quite small, and those skilled enough to manipulate and use chakra have nothing to learn from. Those who leave to train in other villages usually end up never returning. The best they have is a small mercenary force, along with the local militia. That's why you three teams will be so valuable in the defense of Nami no Kuni."

"But," interrupted Shikamaru, a very worried look on his face, "how the heck are we supposed to defend the whole country? We're only nine genin and three jonin. Surely we won't be much help?"

"Well, the country is very small to begin with, and quite underdeveloped. Currently, Gato has attacked only one city, and that is only one of the few cities that actually exist in Nami no Kuni. The village is called Nami no Sato(1). You only need to protect that city, for all other cities have been evacuated and abandoned. Now, as for your client… Please tell Tazuna-san to come in, please."

A rather grumpy looking man, appearing to be in his sixties or so, walked into the room, a sake bottle in his hand. He took a big swig, spilling some on his short beard. He looked over at the assembled genin in the room, then at the taller jonin. His face bore a smug expression, and he said, "Well, well. I guess I'm so important as to have twelve ninja to be my bodyguard. Well, I _did_ pay the price of a B-rank… But I'm not sure if all these kids will be any help… especially that pink haired little brat. All she does is stare at Mr. Happy over there, drooling.

The room was filled with a low drone of chuckles, as Sakura blushed and quickly wiped away the drool forming at the corner of her mouth, fire raging in her eyes.

"GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE, YOU OLD MAN! I'LL KILL YOU! I'LL TEAR YOU LIMB FROM LIMB!" These, and other slanderous threats were heard pouring out of Sakura's mouth as her sensei held her back, muttering something about protecting the client, not killing them.

"You will all be given thirty minutes to prepare for the mission. Meet at the gates to start your mission. Dismissed."

_'This is my chance… My chance to prove to everyone that I'm not some worthless weakling, but rather, someone worthy of someday becoming Hokage… I will make them all acknowledge me before the mission…'_

_'-sigh-… A long-term mission with Sasuke-kun! This is my chance be acknowledged by him! If only Ino-buta wasn't coming…'_

_'-sigh-… How troublesome… We have to protect an entire city? Man… this is gonna be a drag… I know it…'_

_'Finally, a chance to see how much I've improved…'_

……………

The three teams plus Tazuna met in front of the gates, all geared up for the mission.

"Well kids, it's your lucky day. It's not everyday that three genin teams get together to go on a B-ranked mission," said Kakashi, his eyes in the 'smiling' upside-down U shape.

"Right. Now, let's go," said Naruto. For once, nobody argued. They all set off, heading towards an unknown future…

……………

A/N: Well, that's that. I hope you guys will keep voting for the pairs. Personally, I like Naruto x Ino. First, because it'd be easy for me to write, and two, because I think it's cute. But I'm still considering your guys' suggestions. Comment and vote, please!

(1): Village of Wave. NOT a shinobi village.


	5. Kirigakure no Kijin

Disclaimer: This is getting too troublesome to say all the time… I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, upon closer inspection of the reviews I've received, I saw something that has never even crossed my mind… SASUKE X TENTEN! Personally, I am very inclined to do this, but if anyone can see why this wouldn't work (I can already feel the heat from the flames), please notify me in a _kind_ and _non-flaming_ way. Please. Also, I would very much like to do Naruto x Ino… But I've received a lot of Naruto x Tenten… Oh, what am I to do…

-Kirigakure no Kijin-

_"But Hokage-sama, why would you assign three genin teams a B-ranked mission? Even with the help of us, their jonin instructors, they will be hard pressed to complete the mission."_

"_I understand your concern, Kakashi, but there is a reason why I'm doing this. I have never seen such potential in a genin team ever since my own… I believe it is only fair that they get the same chance my team got."_

_"I see… Thank you, Sandaime-sama."_

……………

The Rookie Nine, as the three teams were called, were happily traveling down the dirt path. Nothing seemed out of place. It was slowly drizzling, and everyone had brought out their poncho, except Naruto, who turned down the offers from several other genin of their spare poncho. When asked why, Naruto either jogged ahead, or slowed down to avoid answering the question.

'_This is really strange… Naruto should own at least something to protect himself from the rain… What did he do with the allowance Sandaime-sama gave him?'_ mused the silver haired jonin silently.

Unbeknownst to the rather large party, a slightly dark skinned man was observing the group. His face was covered with white bandages, his Kirigakure hitai-ate tilted on his forehead.

_'Damn… I didn't think that there would be so many bodyguards… Most of them look like genin, but the three adults… must be their jonin sensei… And that man with silver hair… No mistaking it. Sharingan no Kakashi…'_

……………

After a silent boat trip through the mist, teams 7, 8, and 10 arrived in Nami no Kuni. The city was fairly crowded, yet, was nothing compared to Konohagakure no Sato on a busy day. There were lots of modern looking buildings in the market district, yet, as they moved further and further away from the center of Nami no Sato, they noticed a slow degeneration of the state of buildings. They soon came upon Tazuna's house, and to the surprise of all, it was rather well kept. For one, the windows were still all in one piece, unlike many other houses nearby. Second, it was a two-story house, towering over all the tiny hovels nearby. Third, it was quite big, even by the standards of normal houses.

"Ah, if you're wondering about the house," said the old man, "it's because it used to be an inn."

"An inn? But how'd you afford that? All the houses around here are so run-down… With that money, you could've easily bought a regular-sized house in the city," said Sakura, as nosy as ever.

"Well, actually, because the inn is in such a bad neighborhood, it was quite cheap, and me, my daughter, and my grandson don't really like all the hubbub of city life." Then the old man smiled at the confused looking pink haired kunoichi. He merely pushed the front gates open, and motioned for them all to enter. They quickly ran across, seeking shelter from the more heavily falling rain.

……………

Later that night, the three teams were situated in the dining room, discussing their plans.

"Well, we three have decided," began Asuma, "that you should all move in trios. We don't know when exactly the enemy might attack, so we need to be prepared."

"Yes. We have shuffled your original teams up a bit according to skills that would compliment each other. No two people from the same team will be on this new, temporary team," Kurenai said.

'_NO! Then how will I spend time with Sasuke-kun?'_

Kakashi, with his 'smiling face' said, "Yep. That's about it. The teams are:

Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Nara Shikamaru, with me; Uchiha Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata, and Akimichi Choji, with Kurenai-sensei; and finally, Uzumaki Naruto, Aburame Shino, and Yamanaka Ino with Asuma-san. Any questions?" When none of the genin complained about the new arrangements, the three jonin sensei sighed a big sigh of relief. Much to the surprise of Asuma, his blonde student, Ino, a devout fan girl of the Uchiha prodigy, had not even raised an eyebrow in disagreement. Not that he cared. This was easier this way.

"Now, I know this may seem a bit strange, but you will be sharing the rooms with your teams. I know, I know, you might all be thinking that we're all some pedophilic perverts or something for doing this, but don't worry. There are four separate beds, and curtains dividing the beds. We only did this so you guys could get to know each other better. All right?" said a smiling Yuhi Kurenai. The genin all just nodded, dumbstruck at what had just happened.

……………

"Hey! Do any of you guys have some toothpaste I could borrow?" came the gruff voice of Ino's sensei, Asuma.

"-sigh- Here sensei, take mine," said Ino, handing her ever so troublesome sensei her bottle of toothpaste. Just her luck. The most talkative girl amongst the Rookie Nine just _had_ to get stuck with Mr. Talkative (Shino), Mr. Smiley (Naruto), and her cigarette addicted, lazy sensei, Asuma. She inwardly sighed, wondering how the other teams were faring.

Lucky for Sakura, she was rather fond of dogs, and she was happily playing with Akamaru, while Kiba sat on his bed, his curtains drawn, smiling as the pink haired kunoichi got along with his canine companion. Just watching Akamaru play filled Kiba with joy. Shikamaru was by the window, staring up at the stars, which just happened to be his second favorite past time. Their jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi, was nowhere to be found. But none of the three genin bothered to look for him, nor did they mind. They shuddered at the mere though of having to sleep in the same room with that perverted sensei…

Hyuga Hinata was adjusting to her new team rather well, thanks to the help of her sensei. She found it easy to get along with the Akimichi boy, and even Sasuke had a hard time finding a fault with the ever friendly Akimichi. In fact, Sasuke was actually smiling! It amused him that no matter how indifferently he treated both the Hyuga girl and Choji, they were both very kind to him. He felt, for the first time in a long while, accepted.

……………

Team Asuma was on their routine morning patrol. It had been several days since they'd arrived at Nami no Sato, and there had been no signs of attack. However, just when they'd settled down comfortably, letting their guard down for even a second was a mistake they were about to seriously pay for.

An ear shattering explosion shook the makeshift village walls. The three genin and one jonin followed the noise to its source, and was surprised to find a small army of various mercenaries charging at a scared looking militia battalion. Leading them was a rather scary looking man, wielding a zanbato. His face was hidden behind layers of white bandages, and his headband was tilted on his forehead, away from the group, so they couldn't discern what village the warrior was from. However, Asuma immediately recognized him by his zanbato.

"Momochi Zabuza…" he whispered, barely loud enough for his genin team to hear. "Kirigakure no Kijin… Demon of the Hidden Mist…"

……………

A/N: Well, here's the beginning of the action-packed adventure scene. I hope you are all excited by this cliff-hanger. I know how annoying these cliff hangers are. But I'm sorry. I just had to do this. Please continue to vote for pairings, especially for Sasuke, Hinata, and Sakura. I've pretty much decided (while writing this piece) that it will be a Naruto x Ino. Sorry if I disappointed any of you. But it's like they say: You can't please all the people all the time.


	6. Makyo Hyosho

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Too bad, ne?

A/N: Hahaha. There's something I have to share with you all. Today, at school, I, as usual, went to meet my friends, when I noticed one of my friends got a haircut. However, this was no ordinary haircut. It was a bowl cut. Sound familiar? Yep. He was Rock Lee alive. This cracked me up, and when I told him to do the 'Good Guy' pose, he looked even more like Rock Lee. Although I'm sure his looking like Rock Lee was unintentional, it was still very funny. Now, on with the story!

-Makyo Hyosho-

They heard the ear-shattering explosion. And yet, Kakashi knew that there was something wrong with that. No way that they'd attack so directly and straightforward. When the three genin under his supervision began to run over to the source of the explosion, Kakashi quickly caught up to them and stopped them.

"But Kakashi-sensei," said the pink haired kunoichi, "the village is under attack! We have to protect it!"

"Yes, Sakura. I realize that. And that is why we're going to the opposite end of the village."

"What? But that's where the sea is!" exclaimed Kiba.

"No. Don't you guys see?" said Shikamaru. "Like Kakashi-san said, the village is under attack, but the explosion could've been, and most likely was, a diversion. By setting off an explosion opposite to the side of the you will attack, you will have the element of surprise. However, if the militia has realized this and split up its forces, then they will probably be sorely outnumbered from the invading end. If they decided to send all their forces to opposite the source of explosion, there is a chance that there was a small battalion ready to attack. No matter how you look at it, you can't win. The best choice would be to fall back to the market streets, where we can engage them in close-quarter combat, but it's too late for that now. We already wasted enough time as it is. C'mon!" And with that, the three genin and one jonin were off.

"Kirigakure no Kijin… Demon of the Hidden Mist…" said Asuma, barely above a whisper. The very killer intent emanating from this man was enough to silence the three genin, but the man being called a demon wiped their minds of any questions at all. Too scared to move, Ino just stood there, trembling. She could feel the cold sweat of fear forming on her brows. Next to her, even Shino seemed a little shaken up. Naruto shook as well. But not with fear, but rather, with excitement.

'_Finally… The chance I've been waiting for… If I can kill this so called 'Kirigakure no Kijin,' then everyone will _have_ to acknowledge my strength…'_

Much to the horror of Asuma and the other two genin, Naruto crashed right through the bushes, and stood firm behind Zabuza.

"Heh. I was wondering when you cowards would show yourselves… Any longer, and I would've been tempted to attack you. But there's no need now… heh heh heh…"

'_Damn… He knew of our presence all along? Just how good is he?…'_ thought Asuma, before coming out of the bushes himself. "Well, then, no point in hiding any more. You and me, right now, Zabuza."

"Ah… it is only you… I was hoping for Sharingan no Kakashi… But until then, you'll have to do."

"Wait a minute!" exclaimed Naruto. "I'm your opponent! Me! I came out to challenge you first!"

"Heh. I like your spirit, kid. I don't want to have to hurt kids unless I must… But if you insist-"

"NARUTO, NO!" yelled Asuma, but to no avail. The blonde genin began rushing at the pale man, forming a hand seal for his Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, five more Naruto's appeared next to the original one. They all drew three shuriken, and threw them, all yelling, "Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

'What? Shuriken Kage Bunshin? That's an A-rank jutsu! How did he learn that? Ah… The Scroll of Seals…'

The 18 shuriken thrown multiplied, a total of 70-something shuriken flying at Momochi Zabuza at all angles. They all struck. However, Zabuza disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke, and was replaced by a very wide-eyed Nami militia soldier.

"SHIT! NO!" screamed Naruto, unable to keep his emotions contained. What had he done? He had unintentionally killed an ally! This was unforgivable…

"NARUTO, BEHIND YOU!" But before Naruto could react, the charging Zabuza and his zanbato were stopped by Sarutobi Asuma and his trench knives. Asuma launched a kick to Zabuza's stomach and sent him flying. Zabuza dug his zanbato into the ground, slowing down and, eventually, coming to a stop, panting.

"Heh… Not bad…" With that, Zabuza made several hand seals, his zanbato still protruding out of the earth before him. "Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" A roar could be heard, then water seemed to materialize out of the light mist that surrounded the village, and soon formed into a giant roaring stream of water, threatening to shatter the Konoha jonin.

However, the jutsu was disrupted halfway through, for Uzumaki Naruto had landed a rather vicious, chakra-enhanced punch on the nuke-nin's face. The look on the nuke-nin's face said it all. He was as pissed as hell. He rapidly produced hand seals, then yelled, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" The water that had spilled onto the ground in front of Asuma suddenly regained life, and formed into the shapes of dragons the size of a fist. They all flew at Naruto, threatening to crush him from all sides, when, again, the jutsu was disrupted. The source, this time, were several kunai sticking out of his back. Both Naruto and Asuma looked to the bush, to find Yamanaka Ino standing, glaring angrily at the nuke-nin. "DAMN GIRL!" yelled Zabuza, but suddenly found that he couldn't move. He looked around in surprise, and discovered himself covered with millions of bugs. "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?"

"Those would be my kikai-bugs. They will slowly drain the chakra from you until you are nothing but a pile of flesh and bones." That voice. It was…

"Shino!" exclaimed Asuma, surprised. Had the two genin worked together to attack the unsuspecting Kirigakure no Kijin, or was it all just a lucky fluke?

"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu!" What the hell? How could he perform a jutsu without the hand seals? Then they saw it. He was able to perform a jutsu by only creating the hand seals with only one hand. The crashing stream of water was targeted at none other than Momochi Zabuza himself. As he was sent flying back, the kikai-bugs were all washed off him. Panting, Zabuza grabbed his sword, still stuck in the ground nearby, and said, "We'll be seeing each other soon enough. Until then, farewell." And with a puff of chakra smoke, he disappeared, leaving behind four dumbstruck Konoha shinobi. It wasn't before long that they realized that the mercenary army was still attaching the Nami no Sato militia forces, and the four shinobi quickly rushed to the aid of the militia.

……………

At the time when the fight against Zabuza had begun, Kakashi and his newly created, temporary team were hard pressed to keep back waves after waves of invading mercenaries. At first, their progress had been slow. The mercenaries, ridden down by their heavy equipments, had to slowly wade through the shallow ocean water from the boats and up the sandy beach. The few militia forces present, along with the four Konoha shinobi, were doing fine. That is, until a certain girl showed up. Since then, they'd been hard pressed to keep back the invading mercenaries while fighting this strange new girl.

This girl, of course, was Haku. Haku had a kekkei genkai unknown to most everyone. Kakashi had been rendered immobile by this girl's senbon, which pierced many pressure points all over the said jonin's body. Now the three remaining genin had been pressed into combat against the girl, and currently, they were hopelessly trapped.

The girl's kekkei genkai turned out to be none other than Makyo Hyosho, Demonic Mirror Ice Crystals. They'd been trapped in the sphere of mirrors, and they all had quite a number of ice needles sticking out of them, created by the Sensatsu Suisho. They were panting heavily. Akamaru was lying by Kiba, who had drawn his kunai to protect his canine companion. Shikamaru was sitting on the ground, trying to think of a way to beat this Haku person, and Sakura was panting heavily, the ice needles having caused her the most damage.

'Am I really this weak? What have I been doing all this time? I thought I was one of the best kunoichi in my class, and yet, this is what happens? Sasuke-kun…'

"Psst, hey, Sakura," whispered Shikamaru.

"Hm?" she barely said, for she feared the tears welling in her eyes would burst forth any minute now.

"I have a plan…"

……………

As Haku exited one of her mirrors, she was surprised to find she suddenly could no longer move. Then, she saw it. Her shadow connecting with the shadow of the boy with the ponytail. She stared at him. So this was the famed Kagemane no Jutsu of Konoha. She looked on with horror as she saw the pink haired kunoichi throw her shuriken at her from one direction, and the Inuzuka boy throwing his kunai at her from another direction. She took the hits full on, and she slumped to the ground. Why hadn't she noticed it? The Nara boy had drawn his shadow back a split second before the projectiles struck her, yet, she was too preoccupied to do anything… For the first time in a while, panic had overridden Haku's training. Haku vaguely remembered a flash of pink before passing out…

……………

A/N: Yes, in this fan fic, Haku will be a girl. Haku's just too damn pretty to be a guy. Also, I am now 100 percent sure that the pairing for Naruto will be Naruto x Ino. However, I still need input on what you guys think for Sasuke (although I'm planning him to be with Haku; not sure yet), Hinata, Sakura, and the others. Please keep commenting!


	7. The Calm Before the Storm

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, it'd be much more different.

A/N: Hello my faithful readers! I am sorry, but I might've lied a tiny bit in the previous chapters. I am starting to doubt whether I should do Naruto x Ino. Instead, I am considering Naruto x Sakura, for it is much more realistic and believable. But I'm not sure. Please comment on what you all think, and also, please keep commenting on what you think about the other pairings. Thanks!

-The Calm Before the Storm-

"_Kakashi-sensei is down!"_

"_What did you say, Hinata?"_

"_Kakashi-sensei… He's been pierced many times with senbon…"_

"_Then we have no time to waste! Let's go!"_

……………

The arrival of Yuhi Kurenai and her three genin helped tremendously. Facing a single ninja team alone was difficult, but to face _two_, especially if two of them were jonin, was enough to unnerve any mercenary. Especially if the pay wasn't that good to begin with. The mercenaries soon stopped the invasion and, instead, sailed away, the survivors not wanting to die.

This, coupled with the retreat of Kirigakure no Kijin, Momochi Zabuza, and the capture of Haku, was enough to foil any invasion. The three genin teams sat later that night in the living room of Tazuna's home.

"This was… difficult, to say the least," said Asuma, looking from Kurenai to Kakashi.

"Agreed. This was much more than what I would've expected. Running into an A-class

nuke-nin… Surely this must be considered an A-rank mission?" said Kakashi, thinking back to the young girl who had taken him down without any effort. Yet, judging by her skills, she could've killed him easily. However, she had allowed him to live… Why was that?…

"We'll need to protect the Council of Elders, rather than go out to the front lines. It's too risky now," Kurenai added.

"I agree. Our mission was to help defend Nami no Sato, and if the Council of Elders go, so will the rest of the village," agreed Kakashi.

"Alright, then. It's agreed. We continue the patrols, but if the village should be attacked ever again, then we return to the Chamber of Elders to protect them," concluded Asuma, earning a nod from all the jonin and genin present. "Tomorrow, all of you will have the day off. Spend it as you'd like. However, after tomorrow, you will all undergo a strict training schedule, only to be broken if the village is under attack. Dismissed."

Asuma's team was in their room. The clock mounted on the wall said it was well over midnight, but their jonin sensei was nowhere to be found. He had been gone for well over three hours, disappearing after the meeting after telling his students to return to and stay in their room.

However, he did _not_ say that the three had to sleep, and that's exactly what they did. Not sleep.

"Grr. That idiot sensei is probably out drinking or something," said Ino. "The least he could've done was tell us we could leave our rooms or something. But nooo. And to top it off, he placed many seals on the door that only _he_ can undo, so now no one can get in, and we can't get out. Even the windows are sealed!"

The lack of a response did much more than piss off the blonde kunoichi.

"-sigh- Why don't you guys ever talk?" asked Ino, trying to contain herself. She had just met these people just days ago. It would do no good for her reputation if she yelled at two semi-acquainted teammates.

"I don't like talking," came the curt reply from Shino.

"Hn. Does it matter?" said Naruto, before going back to chakra molding.

"Yes, it does matter," Ino said, trying to actually start a conversation. She waited for the response, and yet, none came. "Don't you want to know _why_ it matters?" she asked, getting tired of waiting.

"Not really."

Ino sweat dropped. "Well, I'll tell you why anyways. It matters because we're all teammates, and if we're going to function as a team, then we need to get to know each other better, and the only way to do that is by talking to each other."

"She does have a point, Naruto," said Shino, still not looking at either of them, but rather, and the kikai-bugs that were crawling on his fingers.

"Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt to introduce myself. I'm Uzumaki Naruto. Whee. Now you know me." And with that sarcastic remark, the boy went back to molding his chakra.

"-sigh-… You're such an idiot," said Ino. She looked him over. _'But apparently, a very determined idiot.'_ She though back to the battle that had taken place previously that day. Naruto had surprised everyone with his skill. Although he had ended up graduating as the worst student in the entire academy, he still housed great skill. He had rushed out to face an enemy even their jonin sensei had been cautious about. Sure, some would attribute that to stupidity, but Ino saw through the outer layer of most people. Spending your entire life dedicated to studying the human psyche tended to do that to you… To see through people's outer masks, whether you wanted to or not. Although at first glance, most would brush Naruto's behavior as pure stupidity, Ino recognized that it was much more than that. It was determination that drove him to such great lengths. Determined to be acknowledged, determined to prove himself in front of the world… Yes. Naruto was definitely _not_ a loser… But why did it matter? Ino still had Sasuke-kun. She smiled inwardly. Yep. Sasuke-kun…

"Ino." The voice snapped Ino out of her deep thought. She saw Shino standing in front of her, looking at her with a weird look on his face. "Are you alright?"

"I-I… yeah. I'm fine." She risked stealing another glance at Naruto, despite Shino's proximity. She couldn't help but smile at him. "Th-thanks for asking," Ino said shyly. At least she knew she wasn't being ignored.

……………

After the meeting, Sakura, Shikamaru, and Kiba had been ordered by their jonin sensei to stay within the house at all times, and to be on alert for any chances of attacks. However, the three had eventually ended up confining themselves to their room. Sakura was, once again, playing with Akamaru, who was barking happily. Kiba had managed to treat most of Akamaru's wounds, which turned out to be little more than minor cuts and scrapes. Kiba, however, was dead tired. Those needles had taken their toll. He had especially been targeted, for he was the strongest out of the three genin. Shikamaru was laying on the roof outside their second-story window, looking up at the stars. He looked over again at Sakura, and his dog, Akamaru. He wanted to go and play with Akamaru as well, but he couldn't fight the heavy weight of his eyelids, and slowly closed them, falling into a state of dark unconsciousness called sleep.

Haruno Sakura enjoyed the company of her teammates quite more than she'd have expected. At first, all she saw were the exteriors, a smelly dog-obsessed boy and a lazy good-for-nothing who complained too much. However, as she spent more time with the two boys, Sakura began to see past their outspoken personalities. Shikamaru, actually, was quite a caring guy, and was very reliable. Kiba was actually quite friendly and kind, quite unlike the misconception of being obnoxious and self-centered, like most people had of him.

'_-sigh-… If only Sasuke-kun and Naruto-baka were like them…'_

……………

Sarutobi Asuma had spent well over three hours in a small, compact room with the other two jonin, interrogating a certain Kirigakure nuke-nin. So far, the best they'd gotten out of her was her name, and the fact that Momochi Zabuza was her mentor who'd found her quite a while ago. Besides that, the girl was silent. They'd tried all sorts of tricks, from Kakashi's Sharingan to Kurenai's expert genjutsu. And yet, the girl didn't break. She was tired, yes, but she was still unwilling to talk.

"-sigh-… This is going to be a long night," said Kurenai, rubbing her temples.

……………

A/N: Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I am sorry, but I won't be updating until Sunday or Monday because I am going on a retreat. But don't worry. I promise that if you guys all leave me lots and lots of comments with lots and lots of suggestions for pairings and such, I will update as much as two stories a day! So please, comment, comment, COMMENT!


	8. All of These Moments

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Bleh.

A/N: Well, my faithful readers, I must say, I really don't see myself writing a Naruto x Ino right now. Perhaps some other time. So, definitely, it'll be Naruto x Sakura. Yeah. Sorry if I disappointed you, but like they say, you can't please all of the people all of the time.

-All of These Moments-

Although they'd been given the day off, they were ordered to stay in their teams. However, the nine genin found a loophole in this. They were told that they had to stay in their teams, but their sensei had _not_ said that they could all just hang out together. So that's exactly what they did.

They visited the shopping district, for if they didn't, they knew they'd have to deal with two whining girls. For the whole day. And that was bad.

"_sigh_… Why did we come here again?" said a bored Kiba, with Akamaru asleep in his jacket.

"Because if we didn't, we'd have to deal with them. The whole day. Tch. Women are so troublesome." Shikamaru was always complaining, but for once, all the boys agreed.

"Hmph. Well, if anyone wants me, I'll be in the ramen shop." And with that, Naruto left the tenth clothing store they had visited in the last two hours.

Slowly, one by one, each of the boys left the store, until it was only Hinata, Shino, Shikamaru, and Choji left.

"Why don't we leave, Shikamaru?" asked Choji.

"Tch. That's too troublesome. If we leave, Ino won't get off our case. And besides, we'll have to think of somewhere to hide from her. That's too troublesome, too."

"Oh. Okay."

……………

"Yo, Naruto."

"Huh? Ah! Kakashi-sensei! I didn't know you liked ramen!" exclaimed the blonde genin.

"Well, I don't, really. But I thought I'd find you here."

"Huh? Why?" asked Naruto.

"Well, Asuma-san told me that you were quite a fighter, and, well, I really wanted to test you. If you prove you are capable, I might even teach you a few jutsu that I've picked up myself."

"Really? YES!" And with that, the two Konoha shinobi left, leaving behind an unfinished bowl of ramen, with a few wrinkled bills on the table.

……………

Naruto lay panting on the ground. Around him, the ground was soaked with his sweat. How he had not passed out from dehydration, Kakashi would never know. But what puzzled him even more was the rate at which he picked up the jutsu that Kakashi had taught him. It was almost as if Naruto himself had Sharingan. Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu, which had taken Kakashi at least an hour to completely master the jutsu, had taken little more than twenty minutes for Naruto. It was amazing. After that, Kakashi presented to Naruto a Scroll of Summons, for him to make a contract with an animal as well. This excited Naruto greatly, for he had always heard of summons appearing to help other ninja in battle, yet, had not ever thought that he'd be able to do it himself.

Upon the urging of his sensei, Naruto made a pact with a pack of ninken, or ninja dogs. This led to the teaching of the next technique, the Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu. This took Naruto the rest of the day to learn, for he still needed to learn to summon the ninken. By the time it became dark, Naruto was out cold, and didn't notice when his sensei picked him up and took him back to the house of Tazuna.

"Where were you, sensei?" came a voice he recognized all too well.

"Ah, Sasuke. What are you still doing outside?" said Kakashi, smiling at Sasuke through his mask.

"I saw you teach Naruto a technique of my clan. How did you come to learn that technique? And why did you teach it to Naruto? That dobe doesn't deserve to use such a prestigious jutsu, not especially one that's from my clan." The jealousy in his voice was impossibly obvious. This was so unlike Sasuke. Why was he jealous of Naruto? Did he feel weak that Kakashi chose the so-called dobe over the Uchiha prodigy?

Kakashi only smiled back, and said, "Well, since you always call him dobe, I thought I'd give him a little help. After all, you don't want anyone dragging you down, do you?" Still, Kakashi's eye was that upside-down U shape, usually meaning that he was smiling. Sasuke opened his mouth to argue further, but quickly closed it when his gray haired sensei disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_SPLASH_

"GAAHH!" came a loud scream. "WHAT THE HELL?"

"Naruto, be quiet," came the calm voice he recognized all too well.

"Kakashi-sensei?" said Naruto, dropping his voice. "Where the hell are we?"

"Ahh. Yes. We're in an onsen."

"Wha?" Naruto looked down, and found himself in his boxers. "AHH! YOU PERVERT!"

"Relax, relax, Naruto. I didn't undress you. It was Kurenai." Upon hearing this, Naruto blushed profusely. "Hahaha. I'm just kidding, Naruto. It was me."

"AHA! I KNEW YOU WERE A PERVERT!"

……………

"WHERE WERE YOU ALL DAY TODAY, NARUTO?" came the shrieking voice two certain kunoichi. Naruto merely turned his head to look in to the living room, where a small T.V. was turned on, and a sappy romance show could be heard playing.

"Hm?"

"WHADDAYAMEAN, 'HM'?" screamed Ino, pointing accusingly at Naruto.

"YEAH! WE WERE ALL SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN TODAY, DAMMIT!" added Sakura.

"Well, why should you care? I didn't really make a difference, right?" said Naruto, his expression as unchanging as ever.

"Well, I guess," Ino said softly.

"But, still," whined Sakura. Why did she insist on pursuing the subject any further? Growing bored, Naruto continued on his merry way down the hall to the kitchen.

"Damn that baka. He always does that," said Sakura, staring angrily at where Naruto once stood.

"What? Leave in the middle of a conversation?" asked Ino.

"Yes! Gah! He's so annoying!"

…

Naruto sat himself at a table, a small dish of cold steamed rice and dried fish. The meal wasn't exactly five-star, but at least it was edible. As he sat there eating, he heard footsteps approaching.

"Dobe," said a familiar voice, "what were you doing with Kakashi-sensei all day today?"

"What's it to you?" said the blonde genin, ignoring the Uchiha avenger.

"Fight me." The calm, cold tone of his voice surprised Naruto. Even if the Uchiha boy was uncaring for others, he never spoke to anyone with that tone in his voice. It was practically dripping with killer intent.

"No. I don't want to hurt you," said Naruto, and returned to the meager meal before him. This, of course, pissed Sasuke off more than words could describe. He punched Naruto. Hard. But, that Naruto disappeared with a poof of chakra smoke, and his voice could be heard from behind Sasuke.

"You know, it's not nice to attack people when they're not ready." What? But how? Sasuke had made sure that Naruto was in his sight the entire time…

"Dobe. Are you ready to fight me now?"

"_sigh_ Fine. Just don't cry when you get hurt."

…

The calmness was almost unbearable for both genin. Sasuke now realized what he'd gotten himself into. He'd demanded a fight with someone who'd mastered the Gokakyu no Jutsu in twenty minutes. As the two stood staring each other down, several other genin began to gather, watching the fight. Ino and Sakura could be seen cheering madly for 'their precious Sasuke-kun', while Shino and Shikamaru silently watched. Akamaru was yapping madly, and Kiba shook with excitement. Choji was nowhere to be seen, and Hinata was presumably asleep.

"Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!" Sasuke yelled, shooting out several small fireballs. They hit Naruto, only to have him disappear in a puff of smoke, and be replaced with as sizzling log.

_'Where?'_

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Sasuke was immediately jumped by three Naruto clones. As he began to fight them off, he was suddenly aware something had attached itself to his back.

He craned his neck to get a look at what it was, and was surprised to find Naruto. Kage Bunshin or not, Sasuke wasn't sure, but all he knew was that he was in trouble. He could barely move, his arms being held back by Naruto's own, and his legs intertwined with Naruto's own. Although it looked quite awkward, it was a very powerful and useful grip. Ino and Sakura could be seen blushing with anger, yelling all sorts of profanities at Naruto.

Of the three clones that had begun attacking Sasuke from the front, only two were left. That, however, was all was required. They both rushed at Sasuke, coming at him from straight in front of him. They both launched an uppercut to Sasuke's chin. A sickening _crunch_ could be heard as Sasuke was sent flying into the air, along with the Naruto still attached to him. The Naruto on his back detached, kicking down at Sasuke. As Sasuke went hurtling down towards the ground, the two Naruto's could be seen, preparing a kick to Sasuke's stomach. As the kick connected, Sasuke disappeared in a puff of smoke, replaced with a log of his own. Sasuke burst forth from underneath the two clones, causing them both to disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Heh. Dobe. You're not as bad as I thought, but you're still gonna lose." Naruto burst from the ground as well, smiling at Sasuke.

"Darn. And I thought I had you. I guess you were never really hit after all?"

"Heh. Don't make me laugh. A dobe like you couldn't possibly hope to compete with me."

"That's right, Sasuke-kun! Show him who's boss!" "Yeah! I agree with Ino-pig for once! Beat him down, Sasuke-kun!" The two cheering fan girls were loud enough to wake the entire village.

Sasuke merely ignored the two fan girls, and began a set of hand seals. Naruto instantly recognized them, and prepared his own set.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" the two boys said at the same time, blowing flames from their mouths. The tendrils of flame shot out and met exactly at the center of the two boys, and soon turned into a giant ball of inferno, living up to its name. As both boys sustained the jutsu, Sasuke could visibly see Naruto begin to tire.

'_Heh. I guess all that training with Kakashi-sensei is taking its toll now,'_ thought Sasuke smugly. He decided to take it up a notch. The strength of the flames from his mouth began to slowly consume the flames from Naruto. As Sasuke saw Naruto struggle to sustain the jutsu, he felt something prick his neck.

"Drop the jutsu, or I take your head." What? Who was this? Sasuke did as told, and the Naruto before him did as well, before poofing out of existence. Sasuke slowly turned, realizing that he'd fallen into a trap. There stood Naruto, smirking, kunai in hand. "Heh. Guess what, Sasuke? The 'dobe' just beat you."

…

As the group of genin witnessed the fight between the two rivals, they were amazed at the level in which the two fought. They were constantly out-doing each other, until Naruto pulled off what most deemed impossible for him.

'_Since… since when did Naruto become… become…'_ Sakura was at a loss for words. This newfound feeling she felt developing… It wasn't exactly warm or friendly of anything, but it erased any doubts of Naruto's skills in Sakura's mind, while slightly, ever so oh so slightly, lowering her view of 'her precious Sasuke-kun'. She looked at Naruto, amazed that the once dead last Academy student who had suddenly undergone an attitude change mere months ago had just beaten the Rookie of the Year. This was unheard of!

As the genin watched on with amazement, they heard clapping. They all turned to the source of the noise, to find none other than their three jonin-sensei, with Kakashi clapping. Asuma looked amazed, while Kurenai looked slightly disappointed. Kakashi merely had his 'smiling face' on, and continued to clap, despite the death glares he was receiving from Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke.

"Well done, Naruto," said Kakashi, congratulating the blonde genin.

"It's not fair, Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura, attracting the attention of all present. "I thought you guys weren't supposed to have favorites."

"Well, well, I don't know where in the rulebook it says that, but I'm not playing favorites. I'm merely helping our team's 'dobe' catch up to the rest of us," said Kakashi, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Anyways, I'm proud of the way you both fought. At least I know _my_ team will survive in a battle," he said, as if suggesting something to the other two jonin present. Asuma merely looked up at the stars, smoking another cigarette, while Kurenai merely glared at him angrily.

"Well, in any case, it's getting pretty late, and we should all head back in." With that, the gray haired jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_Na-Naruto… Was he always this strong?'_ wondered Ino, trying to think back to the fight against Momochi Zabuza. _'No definitely not… Then, how'd he get so good in less than a day? Could he be… a genius?'_

……………

A/N: Well folks, here it is. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Sorry if it seemed a bit rushed. Expect both action and romance, but as the relationships begin to develop, it'll lean more towards the romance.


	9. Trees

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I'm glad that people can cope with me making this a Naruto x Sakura fic (I hope). However, I shall try to make this a fan fic of quality, where Sakura doesn't just suddenly fall in love with him. Nope. Definitely not like that. Eventually, sure, but gradually. So, enjoy!

-Trees-

"All right, kids. Today, you'll be practicing the next level of chakra control." This was Kakashi speaking to his team. After a while, the three jonin agreed that for training, they'd revert back to their assigned teams. Sasuke was glaring angrily at Naruto and Kakashi. The embarrassment from the night before was still etched deeply into his mind. That, coupled with the knowledge that Kakashi was the one responsible for that shame, fueled his rage even more.

Naruto sat, absorbing every word that left the jonin's mouth hungrily, as if the words were what sustained him. Sakura merely sat a bit off from both boys, looking from Sasuke to Naruto. Every time her eyes fell on 'her precious Sasuke-kun', she would blush, and feel herself growing smaller. Every time her eyes fell on Naruto, she could feel her blood boil, and had a hard time controlling her rage. That feeling she had felt last night after Sasuke's loss… Sakura decided not to over-think things and kept on telling herself it was shock. Of course. It had to be. What else could it be? No way she could possibly feel affection for the blonde genin, let alone respect or acknowledgement. No. He'd won by pure fluke. No way Sasuke-kun could lose to a dobe like Naruto…

"Sakura!" came a stern, yet concerned, voice. She looked up to find her gray haired jonin sensei looking down at her. "Are you all right?"

"O-of course, Kakashi-sensei," replied the girl, blushing. "I was merely in deep thought."

"Well, in any case, as I was saying, you'll all learn to walk up trees using chakra…"

……………

Sakura looked down at the two boys, both of whom had still yet to walk up the tree. She, however, had gotten it maybe an hour after the training had begun. She looked down, smirking at the blonde. He was the farthest behind out of all three of them. Sasuke, however, was still far from reaching the top. This only made the pink haired kunoichi smile inwardly. Perhaps, finally, Sasuke-kun would give her the acknowledgement he had so long sought after.

"Oi! Sakura!" came that voice she so despised. She looked down at the blonde figure looking up at her.

"What is it, baka?" she demanded. It had better be important. She didn't want Sasuke-kun to think she was actually friends with that dobe.

"Can you help me?" he said. However, his voice was different. Instead of that tone of annoyance or indifference he'd always used when speaking with her, it had a different tone… A tone that was laced with respect… acknowledgement. As much as she hated to admit it, she was actually proud that the dobe had actually acknowledged her skills. She gracefully leapt down, cushioning her landing with chakra.

"As much as I'd hate to, I will. But just remember, dobe, you owe me one." This was followed by a low chain of grumbles from the blonde, consisting of "oversized forehead", "conceited", and "pinky baka".

"WHAT DID YOU SAY, BAKA?"

"N-nothing! Just… help me. Please?"

"Fine. Here's the secret. When you begin to gather chakra to your feet, start with more than what you know you'll need."

"What? But why? Wouldn't you just crash through the tree, then?"

"Well, yes. That's why you have to begin making slight adjustments accordingly. Begin to mar the flow of chakra to your feet, until you have enough to stay on the tree without falling off, but not so much that you'll crush the tree."

"Ahh. I see. Thanks, Sakura. You're actually not as dumb as you look."

"Well, it was… WHAT?"

……………

_'Sure, that baka may acknowledge me, but why does that matter? I hope me helping him didn't ruin my chances with Sasuke-kun. After all, I hate that dobe just as much I love Sasuke-kun. I swear, if Naruto ruined my chances…'_

"Sakura," said a calm voice that she had dreamt of every night.

"Y-yes?" she responded, looking up at the source of the voice, blushing. _'He's actually talking to _me_?"_ thought the girl, looking into those onyx eyes of his.

"I… I was wondering… What did you tell that dobe that suddenly improved him like that?" It was true. After her hint, Naruto had accomplished the feat in another half hour, and left to go train somewhere else, muttering something about a secret jutsu.

"Well, Sasuke-kun, what I said was…"

……………

"How's that, Kakashi sensei?" said the blonde genin, grinning at the gray haired jonin. This was, of course, merely a Kage Bunshin. The Kage Bunshin looked at the rather annoyed looking black haired dog in front of the blonde. "So, is this guy good enough?" came the voice of the blonde again.

"DAMMIT, PUP! I ALREADY TOLD YOU, MY NAME IS KUROMURI!" barked the dog in a loud voice. It was slightly scratchy, and was very deep, but it was beautiful hearing the voice of the dog.

"Hmm… Are you… perhaps… Rushikon no Kuromuri?" asked the Kage Bunshin of Kakashi.

"Huh? Heh. Well, I must say, I am flattered that a human such as yourself would know about me," came the voice again. It was full of pride this time, proud of being recognized.

"Of course. Pakkun tells me about you all the time, about how powerful and great you are…"

"Pakkun? Ahh… That brat… I remember him. An arrogant little pup, if I remember. Man, it was a pain teaching him…" Kakashi smiled, as the dog began to reminisce.

"HEY HEY! KAKASHI-SENSEI! SO? IS THIS GUY GOOD OR WHAT?" came Naruto's voice again.

"I TOLD YOU, YOU INSOLENT PUP! YOU SHALL REFER TO ME AS KUROMURI! ONLY A FEW OTHER NINKEN CAN MATCH MY SKILLS, ONE OF THEM BEING TAISHO KOTETSUSHIKON-SAMA!"

"Whatever. So, Kakashi-sensei, what do you think?"

"Hmm…"

"INSOLENT PUP! I COULD TEAR YOU TO SHREDS, AND I AM TEMPTED TO DO JUST THAT!" Naruto slightly shuddered at the thought. Here was a wolfish looking dog the size of a small horse threatening to rip him apart. That would be enough to scare about anyone. "That's better," said the Kuromuri, smelling the fear.

"Taisho… Kotetsushikon(1)?" said Naruto, looking confused. "Who's that?"

"_sigh_ You see, Naruto, for every summon animal group, there is a certain 'boss', who,in this case, isKotetsushikon-sama. I've only had the honor of summoning him once."

"Really? Wow! How is he?" asked Naruto, excited.

"He's the greatest of the summon bosses, if you ask me," said Kuromuri, a smug smile on his face.

"Well, he _is_ your taisho, after all," said Kakashi, looking at Kuromuri through half-lidded eyes.

"Hah! Even so, that fool of a snake Manda wouldn't stand a chance against Taisho Kotetsushikon-sama."

"Maybe…"

……………

"Sakura?" came a voice. The said pink haired genin turned.

"Thanks… for helping me today."

"Oh. Don't mention it. Just remember, you owe me one, Naruto."

……………

(1): Kotetsushikon - It literally means Steel Fang

A/N: Well, that's that. I hope you guys don't mind this being a rather short chapter. Sorry. And, I've recently begun getting some requests to change the pairings, but my answer is no. I'm sorry, but I'm sticking with Naruto x Sakura for this fan fic. I'd look pretty bad if I kept changing my mind about what the pairing was going to be. And, what do you guys think? Sasuke x Haku or Sasuke x Hinata? Or neither? Just answer, please.


	10. Confrontations

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: I'm getting the feeling people haven't been reading the A/N's lately. Well, you people should. It's important. READ THE A/N! In case people didn't realize it, I'm making story Naruto x Sakura. Sorry if you're disappointed and stuff. Well, on with the story!

-Confrontations-

"_Sakura? Thanks… for helping me today."_

"_Oh. Don't mention it. Just remember, you owe me one, Naruto."_

……………

"NARUTO! WAKE UP!" came the loud voice that could only belong to one person in his current room. Yamanaka Ino. "Dammit, Naruto. We have to leave soon to patrol the borders. You can't just stay in bed until then."

"Why not?" mumbled Naruto back, still half asleep.

"Because, we have to make preparations before leaving, we have to eat breakfast, and Inari is looking for you again." Naruto bolted up in bed.

"Inari? What does he want this time?" asked Naruto, more to himself than anyone.

_Several days ago…_

"_You guys are idiots… You're all just gonna die anyways. There's no such thing as a hero," said a certain eight year-old boy. He was frowning at all the Konoha ninja present in the living room._

"_What did you say?" screamed both Ino and Sakura, furious that anyone would even dare to hint that 'their precious Sasuke-kun' could possibly lose to anyone (this was before Sasuke had challenged Naruto)._

"_I said you're all idiots, and you're all gonna die at the hands of Gato's men. They have you outnumbered at least a hundred to one. You're all idiots for trying."_

"_Feh. What's your deal, squirt?" said a voice that everyone recognized. They all turned to look at Naruto, who had just returned from his nightly training session. Inari glared angrily at the blonde who had just insulted him. "We can't possibly lose," continued the blonde, ignoring the angry look he was receiving. "When you have heroes like me, Kakashi-sensei, and even Sasuke, there's no way we could possibly lose."_

_For once, both Ino and Sakura had to agree with Naruto. They were so confident that Sasuke would keep them both safe…_

"_THEN YOU'RE AN EVEN BIGGER IDIOT FOR THINKING THAT!" screamed Inari, through tear-filled eyes. "THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS HEROES IN THE REAL WORLD! THAT'S ALL JUST FAIRY-TALE JUNK!"_

"_Feh. You think you've had it bad, don't you? Living in this town, with only your mother and grandpa? You… you're pathetic," said Naruto._

"_YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HAPPENED TO ME!" screamed Inari, and ran crying up into his room._

_"Ahh… I'm sorry, everyone, for my son's behavior… He's been like that since, well, Kaiza died…"_

Naruto found the boy standing just outside his room, looking down at the floor. There were few drops of water around his feet. He'd obviously been crying again.

"Hey, squirt, why're you crying?" asked Naruto, not mockingly, but rather, more friendly.

"H-how… how could you… How?" muttered Inari, through his sobs.

"How could I what?" asked Naruto, growing concerned. Had he really insulted the boy so much several days ago?

_Last night…_

"_Yo, Inari," came a calm voice, surprising Inari. The boy turned around, to find the masked gray haired man squatting next to him. The man's eyes were closed, forming an upside-down U shape. He was probably smiling._

"_Wh-what do you want?" asked Inari fiercely, wiping away the tears in his eyes, hoping the man hadn't seen them. If he had, then the blonde kid would probably make fun of him some more._

"_I know what happened to you, and Kaiza." At the mention of his father-figure's name, the boy suddenly froze. How had this man found out? "And, I must admit, although it's a tragic story, it's nothing to constantly cry over."_

"_Wh-what would you know," said Inari, unexpectedly calm._

"_Well, Naruto, the blonde kid, knows what it's like…"_

"_WHAT WOULD YOU GUYS KNOW? YOU'RE ALL NINJA, RUNNING AROUND AND ALWAYS SMILING AND HAVNING FUN! What would that brat know…" The last sentence had trailed down into sobs._

"_Well, for one, that 'brat', as you call him, had to grow up without any parents."_

"_Wh-what?"_

"_You see, he had helped save our village by having a demon sealed in him. Yet, the villagers failed to see the sacrifice he'd made, and shunned him, constantly rejecting him, calling him a demon. Yet, throughout his entire life, he'd managed to get by, usually smiling. However, as of late… Well, that's not important. The point is, his childhood was far worse than yours. Imagine having to grow up without your mother or grandfather around, and having the entire Nami no Sato hating you for just being alive. Now that's what Naruto had to go through. Yet, he never cried. Instead, he just pushed through all of it, always forgiving…"_

_"I… I understand… I… I see now… Naruto… I now understand…"_

…

_KABOOM _

Naruto looked up worriedly, his conversation with Inari having been interrupted. Inari also tried to determine the source of the explosion. Then he saw it. Several men dragging his mother away.

"NO!" Inari yelled, rushing the men. As he drew nearer, he saw one of the men draw his katana, bring it high above his head, and begin to slash down at the small boy, threatening to cut him in half…

There was a rush of wind, and Inari saw a flash of yellow and orange, and instantly, the man in front of him was missing his katana, and had a look of utter pain all over his face. He suddenly flew into the air, howling in pain. Behind him stood Naruto, both his index and middle fingers brought together, pointing dangerously at where the man's butt had been mere seconds ago.

'_Heh. Kakashi-sensei… Thanks for the move,'_ thought Naruto, as he turned to face the other men.

"D-dammit," muttered one of the men. He drew his two daggers, and rushed at the boy before him, and slashed at him. In a poof, Naruto disappeared, replaced by the man who had been dragging Tsunami by her hair. Of course, she was now safely beside Inari, a look of shock across her face.

"D… damn… it…" muttered the slashed man, before falling, dead.

"WH-WHAT?" screamed the man with daggers, suddenly realizing what he had done. He wasn't dealing with just any ordinary boy here. No. This boy was a ninja. Even against a boy his age, if he was trained to be a ninja, the boy would sorely outmatch his skills. The man began running, only to run into a certain cigarette-smoking man, trench knives in both hands.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

…

They'd been caught completely off guard. How had this happened? Kakashi rushed to the holding room of Haku, only to find the chair empty, and two figures running off in the distance. Kakashi barely made out a zanbato across one of the figure's back. _'Kirigakure no Kijin…'_ Kakashi thought to himself, before confronting the several mercenaries who had just tried to sneak up behind him.

……………

"Tazuna-san! Nami no Sato is being invaded! Our first lines of defenses have fallen! What should we do?" came the panicked voice of a young messenger boy on horseback.

"Hmm. The Konoha ninja suggested that we should fall back to the market streets, and try to engage in close quarter combat…"

"Is that your order, Tazuna-san?" the boy asked.

"Yes. Tell everyone to fall back to the market streets. There, we will fight tooth and claw to survive…"

……………

Most of the civilians had been herded together, and sent to safe areas all throughout the underground of the market streets. Although they could hear the sounds of battle raging above them, they had no idea what was going on. Inari hugged his mother tightly, saying, "Don't worry, mom. If they come down here, I'll protect you."

……………

"There's a certain boy I want you to fight, Haku," said a pale man with bandages wrapped all over his face. The girl he had addressed looked at him.

"Who would that be, Zabuza-sama?"

"A certain blonde boy by the name of… Naruto…"

……………

Wave after wave of enemies rushed at them. Sakura was currently very low on kunai and shuriken, and was tired from having had to escort the civilians to safer areas. Beside here was Kakashi, who didn't seem out of breath at all. Sakura was amazed at how powerful her sensei truly was. _'And all this time, I thought he was a lazy good for nothing sensei… But I guess I was wrong…'_ And, as much as she wanted to, she kept her mind away from the raven haired Uchiha, for she knew that the thought of him would do nothing but distract her from the current battle at hand. She turned around to make sure no one was sneaking up on her, but too late! She saw a rather large man with a broadsword held above his head, threatening to cleave her in half any moment. There was no time to react. She just stood there, frozen with fear. Yet, the man stood there, unmoving. It had been what, perhaps five seconds? And yet, he still did not move. Only then did she realize that many others around her were unmoving as well. She looked at their shadows, and, a smile crept onto her face. All their shadows were attached to a certain genin with his hair tied back, looking like a pineapple…

"Thanks, Shikamaru."

"Tch. Whatever. This is too troublesome. I'm gonna lay down now." And, along with Shikamaru, everyone else lied down as well. Sakura and Kakashi began going around, incapacitating every single mercenary present…

…

Inuzuka Kiba currently found himself back to back with none other than Uzumaki Naruto. When he'd first started this mission, he had serious doubts about the blonde's skills, but after witnessing the fight, and victory, of Naruto against Sasuke, Kiba couldn't feel any safer.

"Heh. Ready, baka?" said Kiba, half-mocking, half-encouraging his blonde teammate.

"Just try to keep up, dog-breath."

…

Shino had fallen to the ground, literally dozens of senbon sticking out of him. He reminded Kurenai of a pincushion she had once seen in her mother's room as a child. Hinata was currently tending to the fallen boy, while Kurenai and Yamanaka Ino were holding everyone off with genjutsu and mind techniques. All seemed well; at least that girl was gone.

…

Asuma faced off the pale man known as "Kirigakure no Kijin", or Momochi Zabuza. Neither had made any moves for the entire ten minutes they had spent staring at each other. They were both waiting for an opening in the other's stance. Zabuza's zanbato was still in its sheath on his back, his right hand resting loosely around the hilt. Asuma had the fighting stance of a boxer with the trench knives; his signature stance. He hadn't bothered concentrating his chakra to the blades yet. He'd need to save that for later, when he'd be fighting the man…

…

"_pant pant pant_ Heh. Not bad, Naruto," said Kiba, looking at the fallen mercenaries surrounding the two boys. They were both breathing heavily from the encounter.

"_pant_ Hah… You should _pant_ be the one _pant_ to talk _pant_ Kiba," replied the blonde. As he said this, several senbon suddenly flew at the said Inuzuka boy, going clean through his neck, along with several other parts of his body, assumed to be pressure points. Soon followed Akamaru. Neither had stood a chance…

"Naruto-kun…" came a voice unfamiliar to Naruto. The blonde turned to the source of the voice, and found a rather pretty girl standing before him, senbon between fingers. Naruto felt himself blush. _'This girl's cuter than most of the girls back in Konoha,'_ thought Naruto, his blush growing deeper.

"Ah. If you are blushing because of my appearance, then I must say I am quite flattered," said the girl. "Zabuza-sama had told me you were a great fighter, and to be acknowledged by one as powerful as you… It is an honor." Wait! Did she just say Zabuza? Wasn't that the pale faced eyebrow-less freak that he'd fought not long ago?

"Za…bu…za?" said Naruto, pronouncing each syllable slowly, as if it would help.

"Hai. Zabuza-sama. He is more famously known as 'Kirigakure no Kijin.' I am sure you have heard of him." The girl was now smiling at him.

"Y-yeah…" Naruto's voice faltered, if for even a split second. "What about him?"

"Well, he has recommended I come and fight you." The smile suddenly disappeared from the girl's face, replaced by that of seriousness. "I am Haku, by the way. Nice to meet you, Naruto-kun… Prepare yourself!" And with that, the girl disappeared. Naruto dared to risk looking at Kiba, if for even a split second. That was the opening his foe needed. Naruto suddenly sensed dozens of senbon flying at him. They all pierced him. His eyes glazed over, his mouth slightly agape. Then… _poof_… Naruto was replaced with the body of a dead mercenary. Haku was unsurprised. _'After all… If Zabuza-sama had acknowledged Naruto-kun, he had to have been powerful… This will get interesting…'_

……………

It had been well over an hour in to the battle, but both sides refused to give up. Currently, Naruto was pierced in several spots with senbon created by one of Haku's special jutsu: Sensatsu Suisho. As Naruto looked around wearily, he was aware of the mirrors all around him. Naruto had to admit, Makyo Hyosho was a very powerful technique, and yet…

"I won't lose… Not yet, I can't. I still have to be acknowledged by my village, and become Hokage… Until then, I won't lose…"

"I am deeply touched, Naruto-kun, truly," came the voice from all around. It seemed that each of the Haku's in the mirrors were talking. "My respect for you is endless. Yet, for the sake of Zabuza-sama… I cannot lose."

"Bring it on then."

Yet, from the distance, Haku saw trouble approaching in the form of a pink haired kunoichi and a gray haired shinobi.

"NARUTO!"

……………

A/N: Hey. I hope you enjoyed it. I will get more in-depth with the fight scene in chapters to come. I promise you all that it'll eventually become a Naruto x Sakura fic, but, as for now, their feelings of malicious intent are mutual. Only recently, did Sakura decide to try to not treat Naruto like the rest of the village. However, she is far from leaving Sasuke for Naruto. And the same goes for Naruto. Seeing Sakura master the tree climbing exercise instilled in him a respect he was unwilling to admit. Yet, their feelings of malice are mutual. Anyways, comment on what you though. Thanks.


	11. The Power of the Sharingan

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto and blah blah blah.

A/N: Ahh… Well, I decided that I would let Haku live, but not pair Haku up with anyone in this fic. Anyways, just read this chapter. I've got nothing to say.

-The Power of the Sharingan-

"_NARUTO!"_

…

_'Crap… Not good! Sakura's coming… She'll be nothing but a burden… Something that needs protecting… I can't do this with her around…'_

As the pink haired kunoichi was approaching the site of the massive chakra release, she became aware that Naruto was completely surrounded by mirrors. In the few that Sakura could see, Sakura saw a very cute looking girl, senbon in her hands, first glaring at Naruto, then at Sakura. Her jonin sensei, Kakashi, frowned. This most definitely was not good.

"Hmm… I sense Asuma's chakra slowly fading… I need to check what's up with him. Unless I'm mistaken, he's fighting Zabuza," Kakashi mused to himself aloud.

"Zabuza? _The_ Momochi Zabuza, known as 'Kirigakure no Kijin'?" asked Sakura.

She was, however, ignored. Instead, Kakashi merely looked down at her, then he said, "Go help Naruto or somebody, will you? Maybe not Naruto… but go help someone." And with that, the gray haired jonin disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Help… Naruto?"

…

"You always leave yourself too open, Naruto-kun," came the voice from all around him again. Naruto hated the effect it had on him. Although he knew there was only one Haku, he felt surrounded. And even worse was Sakura, running at him. She was perhaps fifteen meters away, but was rapidly closing that gap.

"Now's not the time, Sakura!" Naruto yelled, trying to warn the girl without losing his focus on the reflection he had confirmed to be Haku. Although untouchable now, Haku could easily be attacked the moment she came out of her mirror.

"Don't be stupid, Naruto! I've fought her before," said Sakura, slowing to a walk as she approached the fighting duo. However, when she stepped on something that felt different than the ground, she looked down, and was given a great shock.

"KIBA! AKAMARU!" screamed the girl.

"Take them away, to somewhere safe. Protect them until someone comes to help you."

"But… What about you? Will you be all right?"

"Heh. I beat Sasuke, remember?"

"THAT WAS JUST A FLUKE! YOU'RE STILL A DOBE!" screamed the girl, losing control of herself the moment Naruto insulted Sasuke. "And besides," she continued, trying to calm down, "even Sasuke-kun would have a hard time against this girl. You… you don't stand a chance…" However, Sakura's speculation fell upon deaf ears.

…

Asuma was panting heavily. The chakra-enhanced blades of his trench knives were steadily absorbing his supply. Zabuza, on the other hand, looked fine. There was barely a scratch on him, and his breathing was even. However, he knew that this wouldn't last long. He sensed a powerful chakra signature approaching at an inhuman speed.

'_Sharingan no Kakashi,'_ Zabuza thought to himself, smiling. Finally, an opponent worth fighting.

…

Sasuke was hard pressed to battle the three Iwagakure nuke-nin, all of them being of chunin level. Yet, Sasuke knew he would win. He just had to. No way he'd let that dobe beat him…

As he battled the three Iwa-nin, the battle between him and Naruto kept playing over and over in his head. As much as he hated to admit it, he had learned something from that dobe after all. However, he would sooner die than admit that Naruto had actually taught Sasuke anything…

"Doton: Retsudotensho!" all three Iwa-nin cried at once. Sasuke was seen being swallowed by the rising columns of earth. As they began to close in, they heard the sickening crunch of bones being ground to dust…

…

"D-dammit, Sakura, when I said I owed you one, I meant something else!" said Naruto, panting. He had been hard pressed to keep from accidentally hitting his teammate as he battled against Haku. Using the excuse that Naruto owed Sakura a favor, she'd managed to join the battle. Currently, Haku was targeting Sakura, calling her 'an unworthy opponent spoiling the glory of battle.' This, of course, did much more than piss off the pink haired kunoichi. In fact, Sakura had managed to land several blows on Haku, while Naruto himself, yet, had not.

"Is there any weakness to these mirrors? No matter how many shuriken or kunai I throw at them, they won't break," panted Naruto.

"They're… they're made of… ice," Sakura replied back, just as, if not more, tired than Naruto. She'd always been lacking in the stamina department…

"Good…" Naruto whispered, smiling. "Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

Over half the sphere of mirrors surrounding Naruto and Sakura were eaten by the raging flames. Naruto kept this up, feeling that he had almost broken through. As the fire and smoke cleared, however, he was told otherwise.

"How very frightening," came the voice of Haku. "However, my kekkei genkai is not one to be taken lightly." Kekkei genkai? A bloodline limit? But… that meant…

The look of shock on Sakura and Naruto's faces told Haku everything she needed to hear. "However, it does not stop with the Makyo Hyosho. I am able to perform one-handed hand seals…"

"This… this is impossible…" whispered Sakura, out of shock, fear, and, in a way, respect.

…

Zabuza was now aware of the other presence standing calmly behind him. This couldn't be Haku. Zabuza sensed some form of hostility. Not necessarily bloodlust, but hostility all the same.

"Hm… Momochi Zabuza… Wanted for an attempted coup d'etat on Kirigakure no Sato. A part of the 'Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu'… Seven Swordsmen of the Mist… A B-Rank nuke-nin…" Kakashi calmly stated. He was looking lazily at Zabuza, who had now turned to face him.

"Ha ha ha… To be known by Sharingan no Kakashi… I must be wanted pretty badly after all."

…

When the Iwagakure nuke-nin released their Doton: Retsudotensho, there was nothing to be found. No mangled body, no crushed remains… nothing. Not good. They quickly scanned the immediate area, only to find that they were now on a slowly sinking earth platform, melting into the boiling lava below them. As they sunk oh so slowly yet surely, they knew what had happened.

'Genjutsu? But when? And who?' The three began to panic. They were mere D-Rank nuke-nin, hardly a threat to a well-trained genin who, in this case, was Sasuke.

Standing beside a smirking Uchiha boy, Yuhi Kurenai watched the three unconscious Iwa-nin squirm as the pain began to manifest itself through out their bodies. Although the pain was not physical, the nervous system was fooled into sending signals equaling that of what would really have happened. In this case, the nerve cells were sending signals up to the brain telling that the bodies were being eaten alive by lava. Sure, it may end up causing some psychological damage, but nothing that can't be cured with a couple years of therapy…

…

_Dammit… Why did I insist on fighting with that dobe? Of course I'd only get in the way… Sure, he's the dobe by title, but in skills, he may even be closing in on Sasuke-kun… But even so, we don't stand a chance against this girl… Her kekkei genkai… Impossible…_

"DAMMIT, SAKURA! WAKE UP!" Naruto screamed, tears threatening to flow out of his eyes. "I HATE YOU, AND YOU HATE ME, BUT DON'T THINK THAT I'LL LET YOU DIE SO EASILY! YOU STILL HAVE TO PAY FOR ALL THOSE TIMES YOU PRANKED ME!"

"Do not worry about her, Naruto-kun. She was unworthy to begin with. Now, we can truly get serious."

"SHUT UP, YOU! DON'T YOU EVER THINK OF ANYTHING BESIDES FIGHTING? YOU… You… dammit, Sakura…" Naruto broke down into sobs. Why was he crying so much? After all, she was just some annoying pink haired fan girl of Sasuke. Then why did he care so much?

'_Because,' _he told himself, _'you made yourself a promise in the past. No matter what you say, you'll keep it, whether you want to or not…'_

"Naruto-kun… Let us resume… unless you wish for me to end it for you as well?"

"I… d-dammit…"

"Feh. Dobe. As weak as ever, I see," came a cool voice that Naruto knew all too well.

Wiping away the tears with the back of his sleeves, Naruto looked to the source of the voice, and found the raven haired boy standing there, smirking as arrogantly as ever.

"That's why you're the dobe, and I'm the prodigy. You cry too much."

…

"HAHAHA! I HAVEN'T HAD THIS MUCH FUN SINCE I ALMOST DESTROYED KIRIGAKURE NO SATO!" Zabuza screamed, like the crazed madman that he was.

His fighting style was surprising, to say the least. He flowed in and out of his strikes with his zanbato, following through with single-handed hand seals. Asuma and Kakashi had been trying desperately to find an opening, but to no avail.

"Hmm… I was hoping it wouldn't come to this, but I really have no choice now, do I?" said Kakashi calmly, his left hand moving up towards his hitai-ate. He slid his fingers under the cloth and, slowly pulled it up, revealing…

"AH! FINALLY! THE SHARINGAN! Now… you make me shiver with excitement…"

…

Sasuke had tried to keep up with the flow of the battle. The girl moving in between mirrors, Naruto's Kage Bunshin moving into attack positions… The Sensatsu Suisho, the puffing away of all Naruto's except one… The pattern seemed to repeat itself infinitely. Just where the hell was Naruto getting all this chakra? And, what disturbed Sasuke even more, was that he was being almost entirely ignored. If an attack was ever launched at him, it was so pathetically weak, it seemed to serve no purpose other than insulting him. Of course, Sasuke wouldn't let Naruto know that he cared, though. After all, he _was_ the great Uchiha survivor…

"Naruto-kun… I grow weary of our game. Would you mind if I… took a little break?" However, even before Naruto could answer, Haku had yelled out 'Sensatsu Suisho', and Sasuke suddenly found himself surrounded by, literally, thousands of senbon made of ice. They all rushed at him, threatening to turn him a pincushion. Sasuke, of course, wouldn't let his fear show, no matter what. All those years of training helped him to react by instinct rather than by will.

"Katon: Ryuka no Jutsu!" Sasuke exhaled an extraordinary amount of flame from his mouth, which immediately swallowed him whole. The flame grew in intensity, and all the ice senbon that were approaching him quickly melted away into harmless puddles. Then, from the fire, came a large blast in the shape of a dragon. It was aimed at the mirror Haku was hiding in. Haku, however, did not bother to escape… a mistake on Haku's part. Sure, the Makyo Hyosho was very powerful, and near indestructible, but it was exactly that. _Near_ indestructible. At first, Haku wasn't worried. Sure, she felt the pressure against the mirror, but that was nothing to worry about. However, over time, the pressure seemed to increase, and started cracking the mirror. But, by that time, it was too late. Naruto had begun preparing hand seals of his own, creating more Kage Bunshin.

The mirror finally shattered, but the blast of fire continued. In the moments between the breaking of the mirror and being hit by the flame, Haku managed to pull off one of her one-handed jutsu. _'Suiton: Suijinheki!'_ Haku thought to herself, the shattered pieces of the Makyo Hyosho immediately melted, and formed a formidable wall of water around Haku, barely in time. As the blast of flame hit the water, steam began to pour out, steadily covering the area in a thick fog. Sasuke stopped, panting. This was the most powerful Ryuka no Jutsu he had ever managed, and it took a great toll on him. Through the thick fog, Sasuke couldn't see anything. So, of course, what came his way next surprised him to no end.

…

Kakashi had copied every single on of Zabuza's jutsu, and had Zabuza on the defensive now, with Asuma coming in with his trench knives from time to time. Zabuza's zanbato was now nearly useless, for Kakashi could predict his movements with his Sharingan.

Zabuza knew he was outmatched, but what did that matter? As long as he could keep the two jonin distracted, Haku would make short work of anyone else, and assassinate all those on Gato's hit list, and they'd move on. Like they always did. It was always the same. They'd complete a job given to them, get paid, and find another contractor. Some jobs were… shadier… than others. But that didn't matter to a nuke-nin and his apprentice, now did it?

"Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!"

Two trails of water, in the shape of a dragon, rose up out of the lake nearby. However, Kakashi's 'dragon' was much larger, and easily wrapped around Zabuza's. However, this took Kakashi's focus away from Zabuza for a split second, and that was what Zabuza had been going for.

"DIE!"

_SCHLOK_

Kakashi was ripped in half vertically, and the Suiryudan fell back into the lake.

"KAKASHI!"

…

"Wh… what the hell?" muttered Sasuke, his voice failing for once. Before him lay a near dead Naruto. His breathing shallow and uneven, senbon sticking out of him in odd angles, bleeding profusely from many deep gashes and cuts across his body.

_This… this isn't how it was supposed be… I… we were supposed to… All three of us… We were all supposed to beat this kid, together… But… no… that's not right… no…_

Unknown to even himself, a teardrop rolled down Sasuke's cheeks.

_This… no… Stupid dobe… why'd you have to… NO!_

His eyes burned, and he could barely see through the liquid gathering in his eyes. Dammit. Since when had he cared so much about this pathetic drop out? He saw the needles flying at him, but it all seemed so distorted. He could see them coming at him, growing slower by the second. Sasuke closed his eyes to clear the salty liquid from his eyes, and opened them, realizing what had finally occurred.

_'My Sharingan… It's been activated!'_

Now he could see the trajectory of the senbon, see where they were going to be, he could move to counteract them. He felt himself move slowly, as well. Everything seemed like it would underwater. He felt himself, the air around him vibrating, and the senbon coming at him… He could sense it all.

Although his perception of time may have become distorted, Sasuke did not obtain a speed advantage when he activated the Sharingan. But he had more time to react to sudden changes, which was exactly what was going on. He saw the girl before him, hidden by the mist, but he saw her nonetheless. He charged her, throwing shuriken at her form, then began making the hand seals for Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. He saw… no… he _felt_ the shuriken hit something. However, that something did not sound nor feel like the softness of flesh. Instead, it was like steel ripping through wood. Sasuke felt something above him. He quickly looked up, and saw Haku leaping over him. Sasuke determined her path of flight, and launched his prepared jutsu at her, all within the span of three seconds.

The 'Haku' caught in the Gokakyu was actually a Mizu Bunshin, and more steam erupted when the Mizu Bunshin was swallowed by the great flames. Sasuke tried to determine where the girl really was. He felt something beneath his feet, but he couldn't move. Why?

'_Crap… I'm trapped!'_ he thought, looking down at his feet. His feet had been caught in a prison of ice, of sorts. This, of course, prevented the Uchiha boy from moving.

He saw the senbon coming at him. He felt the senbon pierce his flesh. He felt the ice melt away from his ankles, and the last thought he had before passing out into the realm of unknown darkness was, "Itachi…"

…

Naruto woke up, finding the body of a familiar pink haired kunoichi not too far away from him.

'_D…dammit… I must've passed out… But… Where's Sasuke?'_ Naruto bolted up into a sitting position, and fell back down, due to the senbon being rattled while still in his body. This time, Naruto tried getting up slowly. Once he was standing, he pulled each senbon out, slowly, to make sure he damaged himself as little as possible. Once he pulled out what he considered to be major hindrances, Naruto began his search for his other teammate, but did not have to go far.

What Naruto saw next filled him with great rage. The body of Uchiha Sasuke, lying in a pool of his own blood. His face was so peaceful, like... like…

'_Like dead people,'_ Naruto thought, and immediately regretted thinking that. No! Sasuke _had_ to be alive! No way that Sasuke could die so easily. Naruto turned Sasuke over to his back, and checked for any signs of breathing.

_'None… no… He… he's…'_

GRRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!

The cry was not that of a human, but something far more evil, more arcane. It was the cry of the Kyubi no Yoko.

……………

A/N: Ahh… Sorry for updating a day late. I got lost on the path of life. Really. I had to stay up until 5 AM yesterday, because I had this major project I had blown off until the very last day. Anyways, comment on what you thought about the chapter, and blah blah blah.


	12. The Fate of Nami no Sato

Disclaimer: I get tired of saying this. I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, although technically, this update is only one day after my last, it feels like it's been so long, especially after that LAN party. Well, anyways, here's the 11th chapter. Enjoy!

-The Fate of Nami no Sato-

Teary eyed and unaware of what he was doing, he made his way over to the pink haired girl. She was lying on her back, and as he watched her, he saw her chest rise and fall.

'Good… at least she's still breathing…'

The same went for Kiba and Akamaru. It just didn't add up! That girl had every chance to kill all of them if she had wanted, but yet, she had not! What was even more disturbing was the fact that only Sasuke had been killed. Why him? Why couldn't the girl have taken somebody else instead?

'_Like who?' _said a voice from inside Naruto's head. He knew that voice was right. If not Sasuke, then who?

'_I… I don't know…'_ Naruto replied, to his own question. He knew his conscience was right. If not for Sasuke, then who else? _'Maybe… maybe… myself?'_

Then Naruto became aware of something that was wrong with the whole picture.

'_That… that girl! Where… where is she?'_

Remembering the cause this whole tragedy caused Naruto's anger to spike dangerously. His eyes flashed a blood red, and his nails turned into claws, and he took on a more beast-like appearance. He sniffed the air. There! He smelt a trace of that girl's chakra, and in a flash, disappeared, following her trail of chakra.

_Thump… Thump… Thump_

More bodies fell to the ground before the girl. She merely stepped over the bodies in her path, slowly making her way down the hall. There, up ahead, was the door she'd need to open, and her goals would be within easy reach…

The assignment itself was quite easy. Simply eliminate couple old people and anyone who got in her way. However, there were several factors that complicated things for her. For one, she had never killed anyone before. Ever. She just didn't know how she would, or could, kill another living being. Another factor was those ninja she had encountered. They had given her quite a bit of trouble. She had not fought like that since she had to fight with Zabuza to prove her worth. She slowly held her hand out to grab the doorknob, slowly turning it, producing a 'click'. She slowly opened the door, and steeled herself for, what she hoped to be, the only blood she would spill in her life.

…

_SCHLOK_

"KAKASHI!"

Kakashi was ripped in half vertically, and Asuma was horrified. He quickly rushed at the pale man, his chakra level suddenly spiking from the emotional distress he was experiencing. Sure, Kakashi wasn't exactly his close buddy, but if the person you'd been working with for the last couple weeks was ripped in half right before your eyes by a man you knew was a wanted criminal for deeds unforgivable, it was understandable. The chakra enhanced blades lengthened, reaching well over a foot. Asuma lashed out at Zabuza with his right hand, intending to slash straight through his head. However, he was stopped when Zabuza brought his zanbato up, clashing with a loud 'keen'. Asuma pushed with all his strength, and Zabuza pushed back with all his strength as well. When neither side budged, Asuma decided to follow through with a left hook to the man's stomach, but was stopped cold by Zabuza's left knee. There was another loud 'keen' as metal met metal. Obviously, the nuke-nin had something underneath those pants of his.

This momentary distraction was all Zabuza needed. He pushed out with his zanbato, and the man before him fell backwards, landing heavily on his back. He was panting heavily, out of breath after what he had just gone through. Zabuza himself had to admit, he was starting to pant as well. Well, it would all be over rather soon. He brought his zanbato above and behind his head, and slashed downwards, intending to cut this man in half, just like he had done to Sharingan no Kakashi…

_KEEEEEEN_

…

The door opened slowly to reveal the room before her. In front of her were the few on the Council of Nami no Sato. They all needed to die. She slowly began to form senbon out of the nearby ice shards again, when she noticed the massive chakra rapidly closing in on her.

'_Zabuza-sama? No… someone more powerful than he… Someone… this chakra… Naruto-kun?'_ The chakra outflow was the same. However, the amount generated made Haku feel like she was being crushed from all sides. The very density of the chakra… Haku could almost imagine just reaching out and grabbing a handful of the chakra.

_THWOK_

'He's… fast,' thought Haku, as she was punched in the face, sending her flying back into the hallway. She couldn't even sense his chakra. Was he so fast that he was moving faster than the outpour of chakra from his body? Technically, although difficult, it would be possible, but the pressure of the chakra from his body was so great, she was sure that the blonde who had just punched her must've traveled at well over 400 miles per hour.

Flying through the air, she readjusted herself so that she came to skidding halt on her elbows and knees, before rolling several times to cushion the impact against the wall. Even then, it hurt quite a lot, and she shuddered to think what would've happened to her if she had not done what she just had. Even as she slowly rose, she began to feel lightheaded, and saw more than one Naruto. Bad sign. Suddenly, one Naruto came charging at her, while the other merely stood there. Wait! Kage Bunshin no Jutsu? Of course! Haku merely formed dozens of senbon out of the shards of ice and puddles of water all over the hallway, and sent them crashing into the Naruto who was charging at her. He merely disappeared into a puff of smoke, and looked at the other Naruto. All the senbon she had embedded into him were gone, and even more amazingly, all his wounds had healed!

_'What… what power! Perhaps it is his kekkei genkai to heal at a faster pace?'_

Distracted, Haku didn't sense the other presence behind her until too late.

_THWOK_

Again, Haku was sent crashing, this time, straight into the ground. Impossible! Who could've attacked her like that? There was no one else around… She definitely would've felt their chakra approach…

Haku looked up through squinted eyes to see a mop of blonde hair. However, what she saw next scared her so much, she couldn't move at all. The deep, blue, innocent, admittedly cute blue eyes of his… Instead, they were a blood red color, screaming bloodlust. She felt the color drain from her face. This… this boy… who was he? She thought she saw for a minute an outline of perhaps a fox-like animal around him, composed entirely of chakra, but she couldn't confirm it, for the boy disappeared again.

_'Wh-what speed! I can't keep up with him, despite the fact that he was right in front of me!'_

_WHAM_

_KERRASHH_

Haku, this time, was sent flying into the ceiling, creating a formidable crater in it. She felt herself slowly come loose, and fell back down onto the ground.

"N-Naruto-kun… You are… indeed… quite powerful… No wonder Zabu… Zabuza-sama… wanted me to… fight you…" Haku slowly rose, leaning against the wall. Naruto's eyes burned with hatred against this young woman who had murdered his teammate, rival, and (reluctantly admitted) friend. However, he felt the rage in him dissipate when he looked into her soft eyes. Even despite the beating she had taken, she had a soft, sad, peaceful look in her eyes.

_'Wh… why?'_

"Naruto-kun… I… I envy you… Being able to… care for …and protect… those who you are… most important to… you…"

"What… what the hell are you talking about…" said Naruto, muttering barely above a whisper. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? YOU JUST KILLED SASUKE! YOU CALL THAT 'CARING AND PROTECTING'?"

"I… Naruto-kun…"

"Shut up, dobe," came that voice.

_'I… Sasuke? No… He's… he couldn't be…'_

"You're loud enough to wake the dead…" A girl this time…

_'I… but… he…'_

"See… what I mean… Naruto-kun?"

"You dobe… you think I'd die so easily? I thought I told you. I have some things to do before I die. Until then, I'm not gonna die." Naruto turned around, gawking at the source of the voice. And there was Sasuke, arm around Sakura's neck, leaning on her for support. Apparently, he hadn't regained strength back to his legs. In fact, Sakura herself looked very tired…

"Naruto… why're you always so loud?" said the pink haired girl, slightly smiling.

"N… Naruto-kun… I have… failed… Please… End it for me…" said Haku, softly. Naruto looked back at Haku over his shoulder.

"No… you haven't… There's still a chance to redeem yourself…"

"No… You do not… do not understand… Zabuza-sama… I have failed… him…"

"What… what the hell does that mean?" Naruto asked, his voice suddenly soft and filled with compassion.

"I… my entire life… I have dedicated… myself… my _life_… to serving Zabuza-sama… He was… the only one… to ever acknowledge… me… to give me a chance at life… And for that… I was truly grateful… And now… I have failed him… I was ordered to fight and defeat you… and yet… look at me… And even, my assignment… to kill the Council… I have even failed that…"

Naruto suddenly understood now. It was sort of like the relationship between him and Iruka, but even closer. This girl was fanatical. She was willing to do anything for Zabuza…

_'Of course… I should know what solitude feels like… What it's like to be ignored and scorned by everyone…'_

"Please, Naruto-kun… End it for me… To face Zabuza-sama… after this shame… I… I cannot bear it…"

"Do not… touch… that girl…"

…

_KEEEEEEN_

Zabuza was shocked, to say the least. There, standing before him, was none other than Hatake Kakashi, blocking his zanbato with a kunai. Zabuza could only imagine the damage to the bone he must have dealt, with all the force and pressure of the blow. Yet, Kakashi looked unfazed. Instead, he looked intently at Zabuza.

"Leave. You will only get yourself killed." Zabuza knew it was true. To pursue this battle any further would probably end with Zabuza being either killed or very seriously injured. And besides, he had gotten that kick out of this battle that he had been seeking for so long. He felt the bloodlust… or lack thereof. He merely pulled his zanbato back, and returned it to its sheath. He looked at Kakashi, then at Asuma, then back at Kakashi.

"Fine. You guys aren't a part of my job, anyways. I just need to kill the Council members."

"What?"

_THWAK_

Kakashi was hit on the back of his head by the hilt of the zanbato. He crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The same was done to Asuma. Both jonin lay there, unconscious, but alive all the same.

"Heh. It'd be a shame to have to kill you two here and now. I intend to seek you out, and fight you again some day. Until then, you two are to not die…" And in a swirling froth of water, Zabuza disappeared.

He appeared at the hallway in which he saw Haku and the boy he knew to be Naruto, as well as two others, assumed to be the allies of Naruto.

"I… my entire life… I have dedicated… myself… my _life_… to serving Zabuza-sama… He was… the only one… to ever acknowledge… me… to give me a chance at life… And for that… I was truly grateful… And now… I have failed him… I was ordered to fight and defeat you… and yet… look at me… And even, my assignment… to kill the Council… I have even failed that… Please, Naruto-kun… End it for me… To face Zabuza-sama… after this shame… I… I cannot bear it…"

"Do not… touch… that girl…"

Everyone whirled around in surprise.

"Za… Zabuza-sama…" Haku whispered, and crumpled to the ground.

"Worthless… FOOL!" Zabuza punched Haku in the face, having approached her after she fell.

"Wh.. WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" screamed Naruto, tears suddenly filling his eyes. He could only imagine the pain that Haku had felt. If Iruka-sensei had done that to him…

"This… this girl… She proved to be worthless after all. Even with her kekkei genkai and my training… she still lost to a genin…"

"I… I am sorry, Zabuza-sama. And I am ready… for my punishment…"

Zabuza wordlessly drew his zanbato, his emotions unreadable from his face. A single drop of tear escaped Zabuza's eyes, but went unnoticed by everyone.

"Now… For failing… You… must… die…" Zabuza said, his breathing growing increasingly ragged, voice starting to crack…

Zabuza drew the zanbato back, over his left shoulder, holding the blade with his right hand. However, before he could make the swing to behead the silent, ready to behead the girl in front of him, tears freely flowing down her emotionless face. Her eyes… it seemed… lifeless…

"WHAT THE HELL?" screamed Naruto, again. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING? DIDN'T YOU HEAR WHAT SHE SAID? SHE WAS FANATICAL! SHE PRACTICALLY WORSHIPED YOU! AND ALL YOU DO IS SHOW UP AND BEAT HER DOWN?"

"Shut… SHUT UP!" Zabuza screamed, turning around to strike the boy down. However, what he saw surprised him. The boy… Naruto… was… crying? "Wh… why… are you… crying?" said Zabuza, his voice raspy.

"I… WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?" screamed Naruto, ignoring the question. "HOW CAN YOU DO THAT TO HER! SHE PRACTICALLY LOVED YOU!"

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! THAT'S WHY I HAVE TO DO THIS!" Zabuza screamed back. "I… she's… I love her… like a child of my own…" Haku looked shocked at this, looking up at the man she had so long seen as a father to her.

"What… what the hell…" muttered Naruto, barely above a whisper. "I don't know about you hometown… But where I come from, when you love someone… you don't kill them… You show them affection… You tell them how much they matter to you… not strike them down… You support them, and try to keep them from harm… not cause harm yourself…"

"That's… that's why… Because of me… Haku… I have made her do things unforgivable… I have caused her such great harm… Even now… Look at her… LOOK AT HER!" Naruto did as told. Her left arm, he saw, was bent in several places. Definitely something wrong. Also, he saw she had trouble breathing. Perhaps broken ribs? Her was slightly swollen, her cheekbones probably broken from his punches… Her body was covered in cuts… Her face was caked with blood and dirt…

"I… I've caused her that harm…" Zabuza said. "That's why… I have to end it for her… For her to go to heaven, where she belongs, instead of following me, and ultimately, a path straight to Hell. I… I can't stand to send her down to that horrible place… That… that's why… Haku… I need to…" The tears were now visible. Kirigakure no Kijin… crying? There was definitely something wrong…

"Zabuza-sama…" Haku said softly. She slowly rose, and walked over to the man she addressed. She put her arms around his body. "I would gladly… follow you anywhere… As long as you… are there, with me."

"Ha… Haku…"

"Zabuza-sama… My entire life… Although you may not have said it, I knew you loved me like you child. And I loved you, Zabuza-sama, like a father. No matter what you said, I always have loved you, Zabuza-sama… But now, I have-" But Haku never finished what she was saying. A katana was protruding out of her stomach. Haku looked at it in shock, then looked up at the entrance to the hall. There stood Gato, surrounded by an entire army of mercenaries. Haku looked back, and saw a grinning samurai. It was his sword in her stomach…

"I knew you two fools wouldn't be able to do the job… Which is why I'll kill you now. I still owe you money, don't I? Well, I don't really feel like paying you, so with half the amount I owe you, I can kill you. Isn't that beauty-" However, Gato found that he couldn't finish his sentence. Half his mercenaries had been sliced down, and the other half was slowly backing away. Who… who could do this? Gato looked to the source, and found Zabuza standing there, without his zanbato. So… He had thrown it… The samurai who had stabbed Haku was now mutilated beyond recognition… All this within a matter of seconds… Gato could suddenly feel the grip of cold fear upon him. What… what had he been thinking?

"I… Zabuza… I… I was just joking… You know that, don't you?" Gato said nervously.

"Oh, really?"

"Of… of course! I… I'll gladly pay you back double the amount I owe you! You and that girl of yours!" But… too late. Gato felt warm liquid flow down his neck. He slowly reached up to find… a kunai! In his neck? Zabuza stood in the same spot, only this time, his right arm was outstretched, as if he had thrown a…

"K… kunai?" Gato barely whispered. This, of course, caused more blood to squirt out. But, before he could scream in pain, he had something sticking out of his back… shuriken. Gato fell wordlessly, face first, pushing the kunai deeper into his neck.

Sakura felt like she would be sick. First, the girl had a katana driven through her stomach. Then, half the mercenary army behind her hand been killed by a giant flying zanbato. Finally, to top things off, the short man who had threatened Zabuza and Haku mere seconds before had fallen, driving the kunai through his neck…

……………

Two weeks later…

Teams 7, 8, and 10 were sitting in a boat, saying their final good-byes with the villagers who had come to see the heroes off. Throughout the entire fight between Naruto and Haku, then Zabuza and Gato and his men, the Council had been watching through the open door. They had chosen to hail all those involved in what would soon be known as "The Great War of Nami no Kuni" and "The Battle for Nami no Sato" were to be declared heroes, even Haku and Zabuza.

…

"So, we decided to build a bridge, and connect it with Hi no Kuni. That should help increase our economy for reparations."

"Hmm. So, what will you name this bridge, Tazuna-san?" asked Kakashi.

"Ehh… we're still thinking on that one… But I have a fair idea of what it should be called."

"Heh. Well, you'd better make it good, old man, because I didn't work my butt off here for nothing!" exclaimed Naruto. Ever since his encounter with Haku, Naruto had slowly been reverting to his old self. And yet, he was as distant from everyone as ever…

"Hah! You'd better believe it, Naruto! Me and Gramps are gonna make it famous everywhere!" yelled back Inari. After several more minutes of good-byes, the boat finally left, leaving behind a cheering crowd of villagers hailing their heroes away.

"So, Tazuna-sama," said one of the men standing near him said, "what exactly will we call this bridge?"

"Heh. I'm gonna make sure it's known throughout all the lands, so… it'll be called the 'Great Naruto Bridge"."

"Ah! After him? Why not name it after someone more famous, such as Kakashi-san, or even Sasuke-san?"

"Because… something tells me… that brat will one day be known throughout all the lands. Then, when he does become known, people will be saying, 'Do you remember the story of Naruto?' 'Which one? The ninja or the bridge?'. Yes… It'll be a bridge indeed…"

…

"So Haku-chan," asked Naruto, looking over at the girl sitting near Sasuke, "where are you and Zabuza gonna go now?"

Haku looked at Zabuza longingly, like a child to her parent when the parent was near enough to see, but too far away to reach.

"We… we're going… to wander. We'll… go around, helping people…"

"Hmm… Kirigakure no Kijin… helping people? I wonder what that'll do to his reputation?" mused Kakashi, smiling into his Icha Icha Paradise.

"Who knows? Maybe they'll strip him of his nuke-nin title, and allow us to return to Kirigakure no Sato?"

_'Well, one thing's for sure… These two… They have a hard road ahead of them… But not only them, but the rest of the genin… They'll all face hardships… But, the outcome… that… is solely dependent on their own individual choices… I can only hope that their choices are the right ones, though…'_

……………

A/N: Well… not a terrible way to end an arc in my opinion. I hope you all enjoyed the Nami no Kuni arc of my story. I'll probably add in some stories before the Chunin Exams, though. Anyways, leave comments and criticisms, please. Later!


	13. Epilogue: Conclusion of Nami no Kuni

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I wrote this chapter because I felt that the last chapter didn't really do a good job of tying all loose ends together, and to answer a few questions. First, the questions.

First of all, since this is an AU story, I can say that Haku hadn't killed anyone before. Sure, Haku may have maimed, and perhaps assisted in the death of, people, but never actually killed. Next, about Naruto's extreme speed. In a way, it was like the Body Flicker (which I forget the Japanese name of), meaning he can seemingly instantly appear as if from nowhere, when, in truth, he had been moving at speeds thought impossible. And, the force of Naruto's punch itself wasn't exactly that great. Just enough to send Haku flying at a dangerous speed unless she did anything about it. Anyways, here's the conclusion to the first arc.

-Epilogue: Conclusion of Nami no Kuni-

Naruto looked over at the raven haired boy sitting a ways off in the boat. His body was still recovering, bandaged up in quite a few areas. He approached the boy slowly, as to not shake the boat. He sat himself next to the scowling boy, and grinned his fox-like grin at him.

"What do you want, Naruto?" said Sasuke. Naruto, instead of answering right away, noticed that Sasuke had yet to insult him the whole trip.

"Hmm…"

"What is it?" Sasuke said, more forcefully this time.

"Ahh… I was wondering… You… I thought you were dead? I didn't really feel a heartbeat, or see you breathing…"

"Hmph. How should _I_ know? Why don't you ask _her_ instead?" Sasuke pointed to Haku while speaking.

"Hmm… Good idea, Sasuke!"

"Tch. Only a dobe like you wouldn't be able to think of something like that." However, the insult went unheard, as Naruto made his way back to Haku.

"Hey, Haku-chan?"

"Yes, Naruto-kun? What is it?"

"Well, you know when you made a pincushion out of Sasuke-teme back when we were fighting?" Haku giggled at what Naruto said, despite feeling a bit guilty. "I thought he was dead, but apparently, he wasn't. So, how did you do it?"

"Well, you see, Naruto-kun, there are many pressure points on the human body, and applying force to the points can have different results. Some can make you vomit, others confuse, but the ones I attacked put people into a death-like trance, as is the case with Sasuke-kun. But, of course, it doesn't last too long, but the person will still remain unconscious for quite a while. How you, Naruto-kun, managed to awake so soon is beyond my understanding. And those wounds… Is it, perhaps, a kekkei genkai like mine?"

"I… er…" Naruto was stuck. He needed a way out… and quick! "Er… Ah! Sakura!" And with that, he left behind a very confused looking Haku.

"Was it… something I said?"

…

"Ah! Sakura!" Upon hearing her name being called, Sakura turned to the source of the voice, a crawling Naruto.

"Oh… um… Hey, Naruto," Sakura said, shyly. She didn't know why, but ever since their battle together against Haku, and Naruto's encounter with Zabuza and Haku in the hallway, Sakura couldn't help but feel uneasy around this boy. In fact, she wasn't even sure if this was the same Naruto who, only months ago, had been pestering her for a date after class everyday. "What… was it you wanted?"

"I… er…" To be honest, Naruto really didn't care to speak with the pink haired girl (or so he told himself).

"Well, if it's about that favor you owe me," Sakura said, looking down to the floor of the boat, "it's okay. Like I said before, you fulfilled the favor when you let me fight with you." _'Even if it didn't last very long,'_ Sakura added silently.

"I… r-right."

"Oi, Naruto!" came the voice of a certain Inuzuka. Naruto turned his head, and saw Kiba with his dog, Akamaru, waving at him from the other side of the boat. Naruto slowly crawled to him, wondering what the heck that dog-breath could want.

"What is it, dog-breath?" asked Naruto, in mock anger.

"Tch. I was gonna say we should all go out for lunch when we get back, but now I'm reconsidering."

"Lunch? Where?"

"Well, I heard from Sakura that there's this great ramen place… Irachiku?"

"Ichiraku!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Yeah! That's the one. Anyways, we should all go there when we get back, you know? And I don't mean just a couple of us. I mean all of us, teams 7, 8, and 10."

"Sure, that'd be great!"

…

When Naruto left without even saying good-bye, Sakura huffed up in anger.

_'How dare he approach me, then try to strike up a conversation, then leave just like that! Who the hell does he think he is?'_ However, instead of pursuing her rage further, she gave a wayward glance at the Uchiha boy. _'Sasuke-kun…'_

…

"Sasuke-kun?" came the voice he came to dread so much.

_'Great. Another pathetic attempt at trying to get a date with me…'_ "What do you want?" Sasuke said, not bothering to look at who was speaking to him. It was obviously that pink haired brat on his team, Sakura or whatever her name was.

"Sasuke-kun… The reason Naruto beat Haku-san was… was because you fought her first, isn't it?"

"Hm?"

"I mean, I don't understand how Naruto could've possibly beaten Haku-san unless Haku-san was already seriously wounded or very tired. And, well, when I was fighting with Naruto against Haku-san, she didn't exactly seem worn out. So, it's only logical that when you came to fight Haku-san, despite the fact that you may have been rendered unconscious, you managed to tire her out, right?"

"I… leave me alone." His voice was even colder than normal.

_'What… what's wrong with Sasuke-kun?'_

…

"So, Shikamaru, how did you like your new team?" asked a very perky Ino.

"Tch. Not as troublesome as you are," replied Shikamaru, earning a slap to the back of his head, nearly knocking him off the boat.

"WHAT?" screamed Ino, angry fires burning in her eyes.

"I-Ino… let's try to calm down now, okay? I'm sure Shikamaru meant he missed us both," said Choji, trying to calm Ino down. Whenever Ino got angry and Choji tried to eat, Choji ended up getting indigestion, so it was troublesome for Choji whenever Shikamaru did something to piss off that blonde teammate of his.

"I… _sigh_… You're probably right, Choji. I mean, after all, what kind of guy in their right mind could possibly not miss me, right?"

_'Ugh… how troublesome… Women are always so self-absorbed,'_ thought Shikamaru, glaring at the oblivious Ino.

_'Well, at least she's not angry anymore,'_ thought Choji, returning to his bag of chips.

…

"Shino-san," came the soft voice. Shino glanced at the source of the voice. A pale-eyed lavender haired girl sat by him, looking at him. "A-are you… okay? After what had h-happened…"

"I'm fine, Hinata," was his short reply. When the uncomfortable silence fell upon both, he asked the girl, "How did you like your team?"

"W-well, Choji-san was very kind to me," replied Hinata, "and Sasuke-san wasn't as mean as I thought he would be. Sometimes, he would be very funny, telling us about some of the things that Naruto-san did."

'Hmm… So he's not as bad of a bastard as I thought…' "Glad to hear you had fun, Hinata."

"Th-thank you, Shino-san."

…

"Haku-san?" The said girl turned around to find a head of pink hair sitting right beside her. She wasn't surprised. She had sensed the girl's approach, but had dismissed the girl from her thoughts when the pink haired girl didn't speak.

"Y-yes, Sakura-chan?" asked the older girl, smiling softly at the said girl.

"H-how, exactly, Haku-san, did you end up losing to that dobe… I-I mean Naruto? He isn't exactly Sasuke-kun…"

"You know, Sakura-chan," said Haku, smiling at the girl now more out of pity than anything, "you really don't give Naruto-san much credit. He is much better than you would probably be willing to admit. Naruto-san didn't beat me because I was tired, or because I was injured. No. Naruto-san beat me because he was simply more powerful than me. Sure, for a ninja, power isn't everything, but he was being guided by something far more powerful than simple logic… and to tell you now, Sakura-chan, would probably cause you more confusion than to keep it from you. If you really wish to know, please ask Naruto-san himself."

…

"So, Zabuza, what're you going to do now?" said Kakashi, looking at the mentioned man out of the corner of his eye.

"I… don't know. I'll probably wander the rest of my life, and perhaps return to Kirigakure no Sato, if ever allowed. One thing's for sure though… Haku… I will protect her with my life."

……………

A/N: Okay. So it didn't exactly go as planned, but that's okay, I suppose. I hope this wraps about everything up. Expect the next arc soon!


	14. Looking Back

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I decided that I'd do something with the (nearly nonexistent) revelation of Naruto and his feelings toward Sakura (if he still has any). Anyways, this is more for curing my boredom than anything else. Enjoy!

-Looking Back -

At first, it had been a light shower, which was barely noticed by the pink haired girl sitting on the park bench. However, it had slowly grown to a full-blown storm, complete with thunder and lightning. And yet, she refused to move. She was lost deep in her thoughts, going over all that had occurred in her latest mission.

'_Naruto… He's… not as dumb as I thought… Sasuke-kun… He… he's not as great… NO! What am I saying? Of course he's great! Stupid thoughts…'_ Sakura moved one of her soaked bangs out of her face, trying to get a clear view of whatever it was she was looking at. _'Naruto… What's happened to you? At first, I thought it was great that you decided to leave me alone. But now… you're just like Sasuke-kun… At least, all the bad parts of him… Not that Sasuke-kun has any bad things about him… well… unless you count that part of him that is constantly rejecting me… But I'm sure that's just a phase. But what happened to you, Naruto? You used to be always smiling, and you made everyone else smile, be it your stupidity or your pranks and jokes… But now, you've… changed…'_ Sakura shook her head vigorously, as if to shake off any debris from her hair. _'Wh-why do I care, though? Dammit… Ever since I had talked to Haku-san… I… Yes. That had to be it. I'm still a bit shaky from my chat with Haku-san. It'll pass soon enough…'_ As she sat there, Sakura failed to notice that the raindrops had stopped falling on her. After quite a while, Sakura looked up, wondering where that 'plit plat' noise was coming from. She was surprised to find an orange umbrella, and followed the hand holding it up an orange sleeve, and into the whiskered face of a certain boy who had been invading her thoughts lately.

"Naruto," said Sakura, neither friendly nor hostile.

"Hn. You know, Sakura, if you sit in the rain, you'll catch a cold or fever. Any reason you're sitting out here in the rain?"

Sakura merely smiled a sad smile. She looked into those deep azure orbs, and saw, for the first time, something she thought she'd never see in his face. She saw… sorrow. But why? Why was that idiot dobe sad? Maybe Ichiraku had gone out of business?

"Not really, I guess. I just came out here to think. What about you, though? Why are you out?"

"Well… I wanted to get some ramen at Ichiraku… and so I did." Well, she knew that Ichiraku was still in business.

"Really? I didn't see you pass here before, and I've been here for the past couple hours. Exactly how much did you eat?" Sakura asked, more jokingly than seriously.

"Hmm… Well, I ate… um… What's 23 plus 18?"

"Twenty… three… plus… eighteen? FOURTY-ONE?" Sakura couldn't help but scream.

"Yeah. It's little, huh? I usually eat about fifty for an appetizer."

"APPETIZER?"

"Haha. I'm just kidding, Sakura. Don't freak out. I only ate ten or so bowls."

"Oh… right." Sakura blushed slightly. Of course. He still had that tendency to prank people, albeit a bit less severely.

"Anyways… You're soaked, Sakura. Want to borrow my umbrella?"

"What… what about you? Won't you get wet?"

Naruto smiled at her. Yet, something seemed out of place with this smile. It was something she hadn't seen in quite a while. It almost looked… sad.

"Nah. I'll be fine, Sakura. I'm used to it." Before the pink haired girl could answer, he put the umbrella in her hands, and walked away, saying, "Now I don't owe you anymore!"

Sakura began to yell, "But you never," but the boy was gone now. "did… Naruto… what's wrong with you?" Sakura stood, and smiled to herself. "Well, as long as I have the umbrella, I might as well put it to good use. I'll go visit Sasuke-kun." And with that, the girl walked down the park road to visit her favorite boy.

……………

A/N: Short? Yes. And it didn't really do anything to progress the storyline, unless you count progressing the (sorta) growing relationship (not dating, mind you) between Naruto and Sakura. And, in this case, it sorta is progressing the story, but not exactly important.


	15. Chunin Exams: Part 1

Disclaimer: I don't feel like saying it, but… I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I'm starting to wonder, guys. Do you think I should actually type up the fight scenes between Naruto and Kiba, Naruto and Neji, and Naruto and Gaara/Shukaku? I'm still iffy on that matter… Please comment and tell me what you think.

-Chunin Exams: Part 1-

Currently, the entire room was silent, except for the sound of pencils scribbling on papers furiously. That, and the occasional numbers being called out, dismissing the failed genin.

_Three weeks ago…_

"_Well, kids, it's been almost three months since our little field trip to Nami no Kuni. And, in and during that time, I feel that many of you had matured and grown. That's why I'm telling you… I have accepted you all to participate in the Chunin Exams."_

"_Chunin Exams?" asked Naruto, slightly curious. Sure, he'd heard of them, but what were they, exactly?_

_"You see, Naruto," his jonin sensei began to explain, "the Chunin Exams are a set of three exams, a written portion, a survival portion, and a tournament-style portion. To become a qualified chunin, you must at least pass the written portion. Of course, almost nobody has passed with just taking the written portion. In fact, I believe nobody has. But, that's not important right now. The truth of the matter is, you've all been recognized by you jonin sensei, me, to be qualified and skilled enough to take the test. However, whether you wish to take the test or not, is entirely up to you. Show up here one week from now at 5 A.M., and we will begin training those who wish to take the test. Of course, you will have the entire week to decide whether you wish to take the test or not. If, for any reason, you change your mind, I won't stop you. The decision is yours. The rest of the information is in this packet." Kakashi took out three packets of paper, handing each to one of his genin charges. "Think wisely on this. Later." Then, with a poof, he disappeared._

Sakura knew all these questions. They were too easy. She looked to where Sasuke-kun was sitting, and saw that he was scribbling furiously away at his paper. Of course. She'd expect no less from her Sasuke-kun. Then, she looked over at Naruto, sitting several rows in front of her. What she felt when she saw what he was doing, she couldn't really explain. Should she be relieved, or worried? Mad, or glad? She decided to get angry. Why change now, right?

The blonde was currently asleep, and seemed to have drooled on his paper. Although she thought she had seen traces of graphite on his test sheet, she couldn't be too sure. Damn him…

_Two weeks ago…_

"_You know, kids, I must say I'm proud of you all," their jonin sensei began. "Not only did every one of you show up for training every day of the week, but none of you ever thought of backing down." Then, Kakashi glared at Sakura lazily. "Of course, some had different motives than others… But that's not important, and I'll tell you why. From this point on, there's no turning back. So, if any of you wish to back out right now, then I won't chastise you. Any takers?" When no one seemed willing to take his offer, his eye formed that upside-down U shape, usually meaning that he was smiling. "Good. And I'll tell you why. You see, the Chunin Exams must be taken as a three-man team, meaning that if even one of you decided to not take the exam, then none of you would've been able to take the exam."_

"_Then why didn't you tell us this?" yelled, surprisingly, Sasuke. "We might've not been able to take the exam, then!"_

_"Yes, yes, I know, Sasuke," answered the gray haired jonin, holding up his hands to try to tell the boy to calm down. "The reason I didn't tell you is because the competition will be tough. Tougher than you could imagine. You see, the exam won't just be amongst Konoha genin, but genin from all across the lands… well, our allies, in any case. So, you will all obviously be at different levels. And, if any of you felt that you wouldn't be ready to take the exam, then most likely you wouldn't be. And, if I had told you, whoever tried to back down might be chastised and coaxed into the exam by the others, leaving the forced taker either mentally or physically unprepared. However, it makes me glad that you all decided to take the exam. So, no problems here, right?"_

The blonde furrowed his eyebrows when he felt someone poking him. He slowly rose from his slumber, rubbing his eyes. He looked at the annoying pest who had disturbed him from his sleep. He saw the Hyuga girl, Hinata, looking at him worriedly.

"Wh… what is it, Hinata-chan?" mumbled Naruto. A scribble came from one of the test administrators.

"Shh. Be quiet, Naruto-san. They'll think we're cheating."

"Oh. Sorry, Hinata-chan," apologized Naruto, suddenly realizing the situation they were in. This time, there was no scribbling. At least, not for them. Mere seconds after Naruto had apologized, a kunai went flying between the faces of Hinata and Naruto, and landed several rows back.

"Numbers 19, 24, 71. You all fail." A low murmur and groans of complaint, and the three left.

"Anyways, as I was saying, Naruto-san," continued Hinata, "it's almost time for the tenth question. If I'm not mistaken, you only need to answer one more question to pass, and the tenth question might be the one."

"Right. Thanks, Hinata-chan. But… why are you helping me?"

"I… don't know, Naruto-san. I just thought it'd be unfair if someone got so close to passing, but failed because a friend was selfish enough to not wake him up."

"A… friend?" Naruto asked, unsure if he heard right.

"Well, of course," came Hinata's sure reply. "At least, that's what Kiba-kun says… He says all nine of us rookies are friends. Even Sasuke-san."

"Ah… I see…"

"Now, then whelps," came the loud, strong voice of Morino Ibiki, "the tenth question will be revealed to you now. However… before that, I must tell you all something. This question… should you answer it incorrectly, you will not only be automatically failed, but will never able to become chunin ever again. Leave now, and you can take the exam again six months from now. Choose wisely, for your entire career as a ninja rides on this single question… Answer incorrectly, and you will be failed for the rest of your life…" This caused a low murmur amongst the room. "Raise you hands if you wish to quit now. The administrators will then take you and your team off the list." Slowly, little by little, the crowd in the room began to thin out. Teams after teams left, until there were 78 people remaining. "Heh. No more takers?" However, his disappointed look turned into a smirk when he saw a certain blonde raise his hands. "Well, well. Looks like the blonde can't take the pressure after all, eh?"

Naruto had his hand raised, and was shaking. _'N-Naruto… I… understand…'_ thought Sakura. _'Haku-san was wrong after all… but it's okay, Naruto. It's okay…'_

_**WHAM**_

Naruto's hand had come crashing down on the table surface, leaving an impressive crack. "DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME! I WILL NOT RUN! I'LL TAKE IT! EVEN IF I'M A GENIN FOREVER… I'LL WILL MYSELF TO BECOME HOKAGE ANYWAYS, SO I DON'T CARE!"

'_He wasn't thinking about us at all… What guts…'_ Sasuke thought sarcastically.

_'Haku-san… yeah. She was definitely right.'_

"I'll ask you again," began Morino Ibiki. "Your life is riding on this decision. This is your last chance to quit."

"I follow my unbending words… That's my nindo," Naruto proclaimed. Proud, determined, and unbending.

_'Interesting kid… This little outburst of his seems to have gotten rid of everyone's worries… 78 left… More than I expected…'_ Ibiki looked to his examiners, who nodded in confirmation. _'Stretching this any longer won't make any difference.'_ "Good decisions… Now, to everyone still remaining… I congratulate you on passing the first test!"

……………

A/N: Well, there's the first part of the Chunin Exams. If you noticed, I used quite a bit of quotes from the manga at the end. I intend to skip right to the preliminaries, though, because writing the Shi no Mori scene would be much too troublesome and boring, for both you readers and me. However, I intend to revisit some important scenes as a flashback sort of thing. But honestly, what do you guys think? Should I write the fight scenes in detail (meaning more chapters, and detail, but the more 'interesting' stuff to come later) or should I just graze over the fight scenes? Your call. Please comment on what you guys think. Thanks.


	16. Dog, Fox, Dog, Dog

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. However, the following fight scenes are productions of my own imagination after much (quite painful) research. Not really. 'Research' was just an excuse to read more manga instead of doing my homework.

A/N: Well folks, here is the first of many series of fights to appear in the preliminaries of the Chunin Exams. I know this may not appeal to some (perhaps even most) of you, but I have decided to write fight scenes. However, they will not be exactly like the ones shown in the manga and anime. Instead, it will be based on my own ideas, since this is an AU. So, if you don't like this, I won't know exactly how many chapters the fights will span, but the ones who will be fighting for sure will be: Kiba vs. Naruto; Neji vs. Hinata; Lee vs. Gaara; Neji vs. Naruto. That's all I'm sure about. Others might get thrown in with some of the chapters, meaning that the fight scenes won't be as descriptive. But I'm sure you'll all be fine with that. Anyways, have fun reading the fight scenes. I promise you, you won't be disappointed, unless, of course, you don't like fight scenes that drawl on and on about the details, painting a vivid image in your mind, so that it'll almost be as if you are watching an animation. Then, you'll probably be disappointed. I suggest you skim through the chapters containing fights, and read the flashbacks, because those contain some information that will be valuable to the story. Anyways, enjoy!

-Dog, Fox, Dog, Dog-

"UZUMAKI . NARUTO VS INUZUKA . KIBA"

"YES! IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE! FINALLY! IT'S ABOUT TIME!"

"UHAHAHAHA! LUCKY! WE CAN DEFINITELY BEAT HIM, AKAMARU!"

"BARK!"

"YAAA!"

…

"The seventh match… Uzumaki Naruto vs. Inuzuka Kiba!"

"HYA HAHAHA! IT'S LIKE WE'VE ALREADY WON! SO LUCKY! EH, AKAMARU?"

"ARF!"

"Heh. Are you so sure, Kiba? Last time I saw you fight, you went down pretty quickly," mocked Naruto, ignoring all the attempts by Kiba at trying to discourage and insult Naruto.

"SH-SHUT UP! THAT WAS OVER TWO MONTHS AGO! I'VE BEEN TRAINING UP UNTIL NOW!" yelled Kiba. "Heh. Now, you don't stand even a ghost of a chance, Naruto."

"Fight!"

"No point in going easy on you, Naruto. I'll take you out with only one attack. Now, Akamaru!" Kiba flipped a small, round pill in the air, which Akamaru caught and swallowed. Akamaru's fur suddenly grew red, and Akamaru slightly grew in size "Ready? JUJIN BUNSHIN!" Akamaru, who had jumped on Kiba's back, suddenly was covered by a puff of chakra smoke, and the same went for Kiba. However, the smoke cleared in less than a second, revealing two very beast-like Kiba's, one standing on the back of the other, who was on all fours. "Heh. Now you'll see what my training did, Naruto. GATSUGA!" Both Kiba's started to rotate their upper torso, while jumping at Naruto with their bodies perpendicular to the ground. They both struck Naruto, who was sent flying. Naruto went skidding on the ground, and lay there.

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled.

'_Hmm… Interesting… I'd like to see how Naruto handles this,'_ thought Kakashi.

"Heh. I told you, you didn't-" However, Kiba's gloating was cut short when the Naruto lying on the ground suddenly disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke. "WH-WHAT? BUT-BUT- BUNSHIN'S AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE SOLID! AND THIS GUY SMELT LIKE NARUTO, TOO!"

"Haha. What exactly were you doing these past couple months, dog-breath?" came the voice of the blonde. Kiba looked to the source, and lo and behold, there he was, standing upon the monument of the two hands coming together to form O-hitsuji (ram).

"WH-WHAT THE HELL?" both Kiba's exclaimed.

"Eh. I guess I should stop messing around too, huh?" Naruto seemed to suddenly disappear as dust rose from around him. He suddenly appeared right behind one of the two Kiba's, with a soft _thud_. The surprised Kiba turned around, to be greeted with a fist to the face. Kiba went flying, landed, and rolled several times before jumping up. However, as Naruto was punching Kiba, the other had seemingly disappeared as well. When Naruto realized where the other Kiba was, it was almost too late. Almost.

"GATSUGA!" As the spiraling Inuzuka boy came crashing his way, Naruto jumped out of the way. His jacket was slightly caught, and was ripped. Cursing inwardly, Naruto landed, only to be greeted by another Gatsuga. _'Dammit! I can't keep dodging them forever!'_

However, as Naruto was still in the air, from his jump to dodge the Gatsuga, he was surprised to sense somebody above him.

"KIBA!" With a powerful downward kick to the face, Kiba sent Naruto crashing to the arena floor below. There was a small explosion, and dust rose from where Naruto crashed.

'_Heh. That's Naruto? The one Asuma was talking so highly of? He's nothing more than a desperate loser,'_ Kurenai mused to herself.

"Go Kiba-kun," Hinata half-yelled.

'_N-Naruto… No. He's much stronger than this, like back in Shi no Mori,'_ Sakura thought, remembering what had happened not more than two days ago…

_In Shi no Mori… _

_"Hehehe… Naruto-kun… Your chakra… it's so delicious…" said the creepy looking Kusa-nin. The Kusa-nin had summoned a giant snake to swallow Naruto whole, and apparently, was absorbing his chakra through the snake. "Who would've guessed that the chakra of the Kyubi could be as delicious as this?"_

'K-Kyubi?' _Sakura thought, horrorstruck. It… it couldn't be… could it?_

_"Now, for my precious, precious Sasuke-kun…"_

"_Bastard!" Sasuke yelled, performing a set of hand seals. "KATON: RYUKA NO JUTSU!" Flames erupted from the Uchiha's mouth, completely consuming the boy. Then, from amongst the raging inferno, came a blast of fire in the shape of a rather large dragon. However, the Kusa-nin merely dodged it, jumping high into the air. However, what the Kusa-nin wasn't aware of was that the dragon made of flames had changed courses, and was still coming for her. When it struck, there was an unearthly bloodcurdling scream, as the body fell to the forest floors far below. Soon after, there was a sickening crunch as the body hit the ground. The snake, however, had yet to disappear._

'Th-that's… not right!' _Sakura thought, growing distressed._ 'If the summoner loses consciousness for any reason, then the summon should disappear as well! That… that means…' _However, the girl did not have time to finish her thoughts, for from the snake's throat (or what was assumed to be one) erupted Naruto kunai in hands and mouth. Apparently, Naruto had to use so much chakra that it began to seep out, forming into visible particles around him. The swirling blue chakra seemed to have some pieces of red mixed amongst it, but Sakura couldn't be sure from the distance she was at. However, as both genins were fixated upon their blonde teammate, they failed to sense the approaching figure until it was too late._

"_Time for my little gift to you, Sasuke-kun," the Kusa-nin said. What the hell? That freaky girl was completely unscathed! What was wrong with her? The girl bit into Sasuke, where the left shoulder met his neck._

_SCHLOK_

_"GAAAHHHHH!" _

_"Now, as for you, Naruto-kun…" The Kusa-girl's five fingers on her right hand began to glow from their tips, and they each shot out a beam of light aimed at the panting Naruto. When Naruto saw this coming, his blue chakra suddenly flared into a red one, and repelled the oncoming purple chakra. However, throughout all this, Sakura didn't even bother paying attention, for she was more worried about Sasuke, and the strange symbol that had appeared where he was bitten._

"_GUUWAAAAAHHHHH!" Sasuke screamed in pain. Sakura looked on helplessly, clutching to the boy's hands, hoping that somehow, just maybe, that would help him._

_"D-damn Kyubi brat!" screamed the Kusa-nin. "But I'll be back for my Sasuke-kun." And with that, the Kusa-nin disappeared._

"GATSUGA!" Yet again, Naruto was faced with two incoming Kiba's, both spinning in a dangerous whirlwind of claws. Naruto dodged this one again, jumping high into the air.

_'Dammit. At this rate, I'll never be able to try out my new technique,'_ Naruto cursed inwardly. Naruto landed on the ceiling, and focusing his chakra to his feet, managed to stay there.

"HAH! WHAT'S THE MATTER? YOU SCARED?" exclaimed one of the two Kiba's.

"NO! YOU JUST WAIT!" Naruto yelled back._ 'Hmm… I suppose I could always call… _him_.'_

"KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" A puff of chakra smoke, which cleared away to reveal a black furred wolfish looking dog.

"What the hell do you want now, dammit! I was-whoa!" As the summoned dog was about to fall, Naruto managed to grab its hind legs and swing the dog back up to the ceiling, giving it a chance to latch onto the ceiling as well. "DAMMIT! THE NEXT TIME YOU SUMMON ME UPSIDE-DOWN, TELL ME FIRST!"

"I… err…Sorry, Kuromuri," said Naruto, scratching the back of his head. Everyone down on the arena floor, however, were very, very, very surprised.

_'D-dammit, Kakashi! What have you been teaching him?'_ wondered Kurenai.

_'N-Naruto… you can even summon your own animals?'_ Sakura mused.

_'Hmm… I hope he knows what he's doing…' _Kakashi thought, watching Naruto and Kuromuri.

"COME ON DOWN, IDIOT! JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN SUMMON DOGS DOESN'T MEAN YOU'LL BE AS POWERFUL AS ME!" exclaimed Kiba.

"FINE! BUT YOU ASKED FOR IT!" Naruto yelled back. "You remember the move, right?" Naruto said, turning to his summon.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course I remember."

"Good." With that, both ninja and ninken dropped to the ground, landing softly on their feet. Naruto looked straight at (what he assumed to be) Kiba (for he was doing all the talking). "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Another puff, and five Naruto's stood where only one stood moments ago. "Ready? GO! Kuchiyose: Kuromuri Naruto Rendan!" With that loud proclamation, all five Naruto's rushed at (what they still believed to be) Kiba. One of the Naruto's sped up, getting ahead of all the others, and jumped and slid, launching a kick at Kiba's ankles. Kiba, of course, jumped up, avoiding the kick. However, in midair, he was met with a powerful roundhouse kick, sending him flying to his right. There, he was met with another kick, launching him high into the air. As he seemed to hover for a split second in mid air, he was surprised to suddenly find Naruto's summon, Kuromuri, directly above him. Kuromuri bit Kiba's jacket collar and held firm, and rotated their bodies so that they were now perpendicular to the ground. By releasing chakra from a certain side of his body, Kuromuri and the captive Kiba began spinning, slowly at first, but soon picked up pace. As they went flying down towards the ground, Kuromuri jumped off about 10 meters before crashing. Kiba shut his eyes tight, expecting the pain that would accompany the sickening crunch that would ensue. He was, however, surprised. He had been caught by the other Kiba who, until now, had been rendered immobile from shock and surprise.

"Heh. Not bad, Naruto. But now, you'll pay," Kiba said, both he and the other Kiba preparing for another barrage of Gatsuga.

"Who said I'm done?" said Naruto, sounding sure of himself.

"I di-" However, Kiba was cut short when a Naruto burst from the ground right below him, landing a powerful upward kick to Kiba's chin. Kiba didn't really travel far up, but it gave the time needed for Kuromuri to engage the other Kiba (assumed to be Akamaru), while the other Naruto bunshins came out of hiding from underground. They all popped out, four in total, and they all delivered a powerful downward kick to Kiba's head, sending him crashing. When the dust settled, instead of seeing Kiba, Naruto was shocked to see that there was a rather broken piece of rock. _'He… he… Kawarimi?'_

_WHOMP_

A powerful blow to Naruto's stomach shocked all who were watching. They hadn't even seen Kiba approach, let alone throw his punch.

"Heh. Now I'm getting excited," Kiba said, smirking as Naruto was sent flying.

_'That's right, Kiba… Stop messing around now,'_ Kurenai thought to herself, smiling as her student revealed his true potential.

_'Hmm… Naruto… Stop fooling around… Now's not the time to be trying new techniques, you know,'_ Kakashi scolded Naruto. Of course, this was inside his own little head, so nobody else heard it.

"That's good, Kiba," said Naruto rising, slightly wobbling. "I was wondering when you'd get serious. Now then, let's really fight."

…

After that, the fight hadn't lasted very long. It turned out that Akamaru turned out to be barely a challenge to Kuromuri, if any at all. Naruto and Kiba were exchanging blows. However, in the end, it all came to be a contest of speed. However, Naruto took everyone by surprise when he performed one of Kakashi's own techniques: Kuchiyose: Doton: Tsuiga no Jutsu. By holding Kiba in place with his summoned pack of ninken, Naruto was able to get in a few good punches, enough to knock Kiba out cold. Of course, Naruto ended up with quite a few injuries himself, but none so as serious as Kiba's.

"Hah! I told him he couldn't beat me!" Naruto cheered, running up the stairs to his jonin sensei and teammate, Sakura.

"Good job, Naruto!" Sakura yelled, throwing herself at him. For an embarrassing split second, Naruto was held by Sakura in a hug. Of course, it was like the ones that friends gave each other, but it was embarrassing all the same.

"Umm… Sakura. Let go. Now," Naruto said, trying to sound as angry and cold as possible.

"Err… right. Sorry. But congratulations, still, Naruto."

"Th-thanks."

……………

A/N: Well, what did you guys think? Did you like that fight scene? Or was it not descriptive enough? Please keep in mind that I wrote this at one in the morning, so don't be surprised if it seems a bit… iffy, with all the combat details and stuff. Anyways, comment on what you thought about it, and yeah. Laters!


	17. Training

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I'm glad I'm getting some positive feedback. However, the drop in the number of reviews sort of scares me. I'm not the type to say, "give me reviews or I won't update", but it makes me wonder if people are still interested in my story. Even a simple "Nice story" or something like that would be appreciated. Also, I've decided that writing the rest of the fight scenes would be pointless. However, if people really, really, REALLY want me to write some up, I might add them later as 'bonus' chapters or something. Anyways, enjoy!

-Training-

_"In order to make the finals fair and just, we give you this month. Each of you must embrace the opportunity to practice hard, learn some new tricks… and of course, get some rest as well!"_

……………

'_Tch. Some training this turned out to be,'_ Naruto thought bitterly. He was currently glaring at his newfound sensei, the legendary Jiraiya, the Gama-sennin. He was, currently, peeping into the women's side of the onsen, telling Naruto to practice walking on water. However, when Naruto told Jiraiya that he'd already accomplished that, he was told to try jumping on water. Honestly, Naruto didn't know what good it would do him…

"GAAAHHHHH!" The water burnt like nothing Naruto had ever felt before.

"Oh yeah, to make sure you concentrate, I heated the water to the point it would peel your skin off if you fell into it two or three times. Careful." And with that word of caution, the legendary sennin went back to his 'research.' Naruto stepped back onto safe, dry, not burn-your-skin-off land. He thought back to how he had come to meet this perverted old man…

_Three days ago…_

"_Kakashi-sensei!"_

"_Hm? Oh, Naruto. Congratulations on passing the preliminaries. I heard you'll be going up against Neji in the finals first?"_

"_Yeah! And I'm gonna beat that bastard to a pulp! After what he made Hinata go through, he deserves no better!"_

"_Hn. So, what was it you wanted?"_

"_Ah! That's right! Kakashi-sensei, could you train me again for the upcoming Finals? Please?"_

"_Ahh… Sorry Naruto, but I trained with you back in Wave, so if I did train you now, it would be considered showing favoritism, an act most unwholesome for a ninja. And besides, it turns out that Sasuke has discovered his kekkei genkai, the Sharingan."_

"_Oh… Well, I guess you're right, Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, looking slightly depressed._

"_But, hey! Cheer up! I'll just ask one of my old… friends… for a 'favor'." Naruto failed to notice the air-quotes._

"_Really? WHO?"_

"_It is I!"_

"_HEY! YOU'RE… SUPER-PERV!"_

"_Super… perv?" Kakashi asked, looking questioningly at Ebisu, who began to blush furiously._

"_Y-yeah! Back when I was still a little goof-off, I managed to beat him with my se- mpf!" The said trainer had Naruto in a headlock, holding his mouth shut with his free hand._

"_I-it's nothing you need to worry about, Kakashi-san!" Ebisu said, trying to cover up for Naruto's slip._

_"Well, if you say so…" And with a poof, Kakashi disappeared._

_…_

_"I don't know who you are, or where you're from, but… I WILL NOT PERMIT ANY DISREPUTABLE BEAVIOR!"_

_"Huh?" A giant toad suddenly appeared, and whipped Ebisu out of the air with its tongue. "Don't make a fuss, eh…? Sheesh. You'll get us busted… and what'll we do then?"_

"What are you doing, boy? Get up! How do you expect me to teach you my secret technique if you won't train?"

"Huh? Did you just say secret technique?"

"Bah. Never mind. It's too good for a lazy good-for-nothing like you, anyways. Forget I even mentioned it."

"W-wait! Jiraiya-sensei! Ero-sennin!" Naruto sprang to his feet, and ran to the water. He immediately began walking on it.

"Bah. I know you can do that. So what?"

"W-wait! I can do more!" Naruto began to jump up and down vigorously, not falling in to the water anymore.

"Hmm… not bad. Took you almost two days to learn to walk on water, but less than half a day to jump around on water… Good. Now come with me…"

…

"This is… a Summoning Contract…"

"Ah. I see you're not as dumbass as you let up."

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Heh. Never mind. Anyways, if you know this is a Summoning Contract, you know what to do."

"Well… er… you see…"

"Hm? What's wrong, boy? You're not afraid of bleeding a little, are you? Or are you a hemophilic?"

"No, no! Not at all! Bah. How stupid. How could anyone be a ninja and be hemophilic," Naruto muttered. He expected some sort of wry comment from his perverted mentor, but when he received none, Naruto looked up at the old man curiously. He had a distant, far-away look in his eyes. "Hey! Old man!"

"Hm? Oh. So, why haven't you signed the contract yet?"

"Well… you see, the thing is… well…"

"OUT WITH IT, BOY!" exploded the sannin, losing his patience. Bah. He didn't have time to waste on idiots like this. There was valuable research to be done.

"Well, I already signed a contract," Naruto mumbled.

"What? Is that so? With what animal? Or are you too dumb to even recognize you summon?"

"I-I know what it is! It's a pack of ninken!" Naruto yelled defensively.

"Psh. Oh. Is that all. Then go ahead and sign the Contract already."

"But… but…"

"_sigh _You don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"You are allowed to sign more than one contract, idiot!"

"Well, how was I supposed to know that? No one told me!"

"sigh Actually, Naruto, you're right."

"Huh? About what?"

"Normally, a person wouldn't sign multiple contracts unless it was ok'd by both summoning familiars and you, but this is a special case."

"Why's that?" Naruto interrupted.

"Let me finish, boy!" erupted Jiraiya, earning a steady, low, stream of complaints from Naruto. "Anyways, this is a special case, because the ninken you have signed the contract with, is working independently."

"Huh?"

"_sigh_ You really are hopeless, you idiot."

"HEY! TAKE THAT BACK, PERVERTED OLD MAN!"

"DO YOU WANT TO LEARN OR NOT, DAMMIT?"

"S-sorry… go on," Naruto apologized, not wanting to lose a chance at becoming stronger.

"Anyways, normally, summoning familiars work as a whole race, meaning if you sign a contract with, say, the tigers, any one of them would be available for you to summon, as long as you have the chakra to sacrifice. However, ninken, along with several other animals including cats and many birds, are independent. Each pack has their own Summoning Contract. So, even if you chose to sign a contract with an animal that might offend one pack, the pack you signed with might not necessarily be offended. Now do you understand?"

"Y-yeah, I guess. But how do I know if it's okay with my pack or not?"

Jiraiya slapped his forehead. He had lately gotten into a habit of doing that, with Naruto hanging around and all. "You really are stupid, aren't you, boy?"

"What? What did I do this time?"

"If you want to know if it's okay with your pack," Jiraiya said, ignoring the boy's questions, "then just summon one of them and ask them if it's okay."

"Oh yeah! Hahaha! I would've never thought of that one!" Naruto said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I wouldn't doubt it," Jiraiya mumbled under his breath.

However, this went unnoticed, as Naruto yelled, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" Once again, the familiar black wolfish dog appeared before them.

"DAMMIT, PUP! WHY IS IT THAT YOU ALWAYS SUMMON ME?" demanded the obviously angry dog. It was true. During the entire time period of him having known Kuchiyose, Kuromuri was the only dog he had been able to summon. Why?

"Yeah, Ero-sennin, why?" Naruto asked, looking over at his mentor.

"You…" Jiraiya sighed, "don't really control your output of chakra, do you?"

"Am I supposed to?" At this comment, Jiraiya didn't know whether to be angry, stupefied, or shocked. Sure, he knew that the Kyubi was sealed in this boy, and knew that he was constantly leaking chakra, but if the leakage was enough to summon a dog this big… He stopped himself. Oh well. No sense in worrying about the future.

"_sigh_ Yes, Naruto. You are. Are you really that dumb?"

"W-wait a second," interrupted Kuromuri. "You mean to say, you've been summoning me unintentionally?"

"Of course not!" Kuromuri let out a sigh of relief. "I always draw some blood, perform the hand seals, and slap the ground, yelling 'Kuchiyose no Jutsu'."

"And… what about the chakra output?" asked Kuromuri, a sense of dread overcoming him.

"Chakra… output? I guess I never really thought about that. Was I supposed to? Oh yeah. Ero-sennin just told me so. So, I guess, not really."

"WHHHAAAATTTTT?" both Jiraiya and Kuromuri screamed. "DO YOU REALIZE HOW GREAT OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT THAT IS?" screamed Kuromuri, while Jiraiya merely watched with a slack jaw.

"Uhh… not really. I mean, I know it's great that I can summon you and all, but what's the big deal?"

"I… _ahem_…" Kuromuri coughed in an attempt to regain his lost composure. "The thing is, to summon me, you would have to sacrifice a significant amount of chakra. For you to be releasing that amount constantly, without thought, is near impossible. It would tire out any other ninja in less than a minute."

"Oh, really? That's cool!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning.

"NO IT'S NOT!" exploded Jiraiya. "DO YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH MORE POWERFUL YOU WOULD BE IF YOU COULD EVEN REDUCE THE AMOUNT LOST BY EVEN HALF?"

"Umm… No, not really." Both Jiraiya and Kuromuri sweatdropped.

"_sigh_ Looks like I have my work cut out for me. But, before we move on to the next technique, the Rasengan, why don't you sign the contract first?"

"Yosh!"

……………

A/N: Sorry for the delayed update folks. I was dead busy yesterday with schoolwork and whatnot. Anyways, comments always appreciated, so leave one. Later!


	18. Inescapable Destiny

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Well, to clarify on the whole Ninken summoning. Although Naruto may have signed a contract provided by Kakashi, he can't summon the same pack as Kakashi. That's the thing about the whole 'independent summoning' thing. Even if two people sign the same contract, it won't be the same packs. There. Anyways, I'll be doing the fight scene between Naruto and Neji as promised, just because I have a great plan for it and all. So, without further ado, here is the chapter!

-Inescapable Destiny-

_"Now, the first fight, Uzumaki Naruto. Hyuga Neji. Those two stay here… while the rest of you go to the waiting room."_

…

"I told you before… You're definitely going down."

'_Eyes of a person who totally believes in himself… There's no doubt in him.'_ "Heh. Fine. But tell me this first, Naruto-san. Why stand up for a dropout like Hinata-sama?"

"What?"

"Admit it. Even you feel that Hinata-sama, the heiress to the Hyuga, is a dropout."

"Don't… you… dare…"

"There's no denying it. Destiny cannot be changed. She knows she is weak, but is too proud to admit it, like the rest of the Main Family."

"You… bastard…"

"If she was not the heiress to the clan, then I'm sure even her own parents would have disowned that dropout. I know I would be ashamed to have trash like that within my family. And to be honest, I am. If Hiashi-sama were to answer honestly, I'm sure he would say the same as well."

"You… you… BASTARD!"

_FWAM_

Hyuga Neji was met with unexpected speed, and an elbow crashed into his stomach, hard. The Hyuga boy was sent flying, and crashed several meters away from where he was standing before. Naruto was seething, and a deadly aura of killer intent was being released from the boy.

'_This… this… heh. Below expectations, I see. What a shame.'_ Neji slowly stood, dusting himself. "Heh. As expected from the dobe of the graduating class. Honestly, I expected a lot better from you, Naruto-_chan_. Even Rock Lee fights better than you. At least when he attacks, it hurts. But alas, thus is the sad fate of a destined loser. Feh. Hokage, you said."

"Oh. Is that all? You want me to make it hurt?" Naruto came charging at the boy again, but Neji was expecting it this time. He got into the stance of jyuken, the fighting style exclusive to the Hyuga clan. As Naruto was about to throw himself full force into the body of the Hyuga boy, he was unexpectedly stopped with a palm first to his forehead, then his stomach. He fell to the ground, clutching his stomach.

"Feh. You never really answered my question, Naruto. But then again, I see why, now. At first, I thought you were a worthy opponent." Naruto slowly raised his head, glaring angrily at Neji, who now towered above him. "But now, I see how wrong I was. I guess it's true after all. The Byakugan can't see through everything. But, unluckily for you, my eyes can see through enough to be able to defeat you. You, Naruto, are just like Hinata-sama. A worthless piece of trash, taking up space. Honestly, I don't know how you could've graduated from the Academy. But, it's not my place to question destiny. All I know is that we were destined to fight, and I destined to emerge victorious over a dropout like yourself. Honestly, you should give up before you hurt yourself unnecessarily."

"Bastard…" Naruto slowly rose on wobbling legs. He slowly raised his fist until it came to point at the ever-confident Hyuga. "I… do not… ever… go… back… on… my… words. That's my nindo!"

"Nindo or not, you still cannot change destiny, fool. From your birth, you have been destined to become a loser. You were born a loser, and you shall die a loser. Just like Hinata-sama."

"You… bastard… WHAT HAS HINATA EVER DONE TO YOU?"

"She… she was born…"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP! WHAT'S REALLY THE DEAL BETWEEN YOU TWO?"

"Feh. I wouldn't expect a dropout like you to understand, but I'll tell you, if that'll shut you up. You see… I am a Hyuga of the Branch Family, and Hinata-sama of the Main Family."

"YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW ALL THAT BULLSHIT! NOW WHAT'S THE REAL REASON?"

"Feh. If you ask someone a question, Naruto-_chan_, you should let them finish. Hyuga Hinata-sama is of the Main Family, while I of the Branch. Because of that, from birth, I have been destined to carry a burden unimaginable. We of the Branch Family… We are born to this world, and allowed to live only to serve one purpose… to protect the Main Family."

"SO WHAT? WHAT'S SO BAD ABOUT THAT?"

"Feh. You still do not understand. I'll tell you… the Hyuga destiny of hatred!"

"…"

"The Hyuga main family has a special ninjutsu that's been passed down… It is a… juin jutsu."

"Juin jutsu?"

"The curse of the mark represents 'a bird in a cage.' It is… the symbol of being tied down to an inescapable destiny."

"W-what?"

Neji's hands slowly went to his hitai-ate, and slowly untied it. He let the cloth-and-metal drop from his forehead, still clenched in his hands. There, on his forehead, was a seal. It was in the shape of a left facing swastika, with claws at the end. To the right and left of the seal was a line, horizontal, with a claw near the end closer to the bigger seal.

"One day, when I was four, I had this horrible seal carved into my forehead through that juin jutsu. That day, a grand ceremony was taking place in Konoha. A shinobi leader from Kumogakure, which had been warring with Konoha for many years, had arrived to sign an alliance treaty. But at this ceremony, which everyone attended, from jonin to genin… one clan was missing. And that was the Hyuga clan. Because that was the important day that the Hyuga heir turned three. Hinata-sama's third birthday. My father, Hyuga Hizashi, and Hinata-sama's father over there… Hyuga Hiashi-sama, were twins. But Hinata-sama's father, Hiashi-sama, was born to this world first. A member of the main family. And my father, the second son, became a member of the Branch Family…

_Hinata's third birthday…_

"_Hinata-sama is already three. Congratulations."_

"_Yeah…"_

"_Isn't she cute, father?"_

"…"

"_What's wrong, father?"_

"_Huh? Oh… It's nothing."_

"_Well… I'll take Neji now, Hizashi…"_

"_?"_

_"… Yes."_

"When the Hyuga first daughter grew and became three… I was born into 'The Bird in the Cage" through this juin jutsu. As a Hyuga Branch Family member."

"WHY IS THAT NECESSARY? WHY DO YOU NEED THAT WEIRD MARK TO DISTINGUISH THE MAIN AND BRANCH FAMILIES?"

"This mark on my forehead is not simply a decoration."

_Sometime after receiving the juin jutsu…_

"_Listen Neji. Hinata-sama of the Main Family… You will live to protect her and the Hyuga blood."_

"_Yes father!"_

'Killing intent!'

"_GAAAAAAHHHHHH!"_

"_FATHER, WHAT'S WRONG?"_

"_GAAHH! MY HEAD!"_

"_FATHER!"_

"_Ugh…"_

"_Leave. I will forgive your foolishness no longer. You mustn't forget your duty…!"_

"This juin jutsu is the absolute fear of death given to the Branch Families by the Main Family. With a simple secret hand seal, the Branch member's mind can be easily destroyed. Death is just as easy, of course. And this juin jutsu will only disappear after death. Sealing up the ability of the Byakugan along with it. The Hyuga house is a clan that holds a great kekkei genkai. Those that go after the secrets are incalculable. So, with this jutsu, the Branch Family is allowed to live to only protect the Main Family. No disobedience is allowed by the Main Family. It's an effective system, created to eternally protect the kekkei genkai Byakugan of the Hyuga. And… that incident occurred… My father was killed by the main family."

"HUH?"

"One night, Hinata-sama was taken by someone. Then, Hiashi-sama quickly took care of it. And killed him. It was dark, and he was wearing a mask… Who do you think it was? He was…"

"…"

"He was the Kumogakure shinobi leader… Who had just signed the alliance treaty. It became clear that he was after the Hyuga kekkei genkai from the beginning. But Kumogakure, with one of their leaders killed in the failed plan… made demands of Konoha for breaking the alliance. Of course, Konoha and Kumo bickered back and forth… It almost came to war. But with Konoha wanting to avoid war… they made a backdoor deal with Kumo."

"Deal?"

"Kumo wanted the Hyuga Main Family's kekkei genkai and Byakugan… They demanded the corpse of Hiashi-sama. And Konoha agreed to their wishes. And war was safely avoided. Thanks to my dad… who was killed by the Main Family to replace Hyuga Hiashi's corpse."

"…"

"Hehe. To escape this horrible curse… there's no method but death. They were twins, their strength was virtually the same. Born first… born second… Destiny was decided just by that. And this fight… Your destiny was decided… the moment I became you opponent."

"…"

"Your destiny is to lose to me. There is no doubt."

"I DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH IT HURT THAT YOUR DAD WAS KILLED A LONG TIME AGO, BUT… THINKING THAT YOUR DESTINY IS ALL DECIDED BECAUSE OF THAT IS A HUGE MISTAKE!"

"You're hopeless…" With this statement, Hyuga Neji went flying at Naruto, and prepared chakra for jyuken. However, just as he reached the striking distance of Naruto, another Naruto popped out from the ground directly below Neji, landing a powerful uppercut to the Hyuga's guts.

"Uff!" Neji landed forcefully on the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him. "Fool. There is no reason to fight. Your destiny has been decided! GIVE UP NOW!"

"HA! What's the matter? You're not scared, are you? Afraid I'll beat you?"

"Grr… You…" Neji launched off the ground towards Naruto again. His Byakugan couldn't tell him which one was the real one, so he decided to attack both at the same time. With each palm, he hit each Naruto in the chest, sending them both flying. They both crashed to the ground, and both disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke. "Wha?"

"Heh. Back here, you moron. Looks like your Byakugan's no good against my Kage Bunshins. So, what will you do now? Complain about how it was destined that I use Kage Bunshin?" Without waiting for a reply, Naruto ran towards Neji, but before reaching striking distance, jumped high up in to the air. He quickly performed a set of seals that Neji didn't recognize.

"Katon!"

_'Oh crap!'_

"Gokakyu…"

_'What? But how?'_

"no Jutsu!"

_FFWWWWOOOOOOOSHHHHHH_

Every inch of the ground within twenty meters of where Neji had been standing before was incinerated, consumed by a large ball of flame. As Naruto began to descend, he stopped the jutsu, waiting to see what would come out of the smoke. And he landed, he was surprised to see someone coming towards him.

_'W-what? But… but how?'_

"Fool. Did you think that would work on me? A dropout like you… can't hope to compete with me."

…

"F-father… Neji… did he just…"

"Yes… That was… Hakkesho Kaiten."

"B-but, I thought that was a move exclusively for the Main Family!"

"Yes, Hanabi, it is. How he learned it on his own… is beyond me." _'What a shame… Talent like his… wasted on the Branch Family.'_

…

"Crap!" Naruto leapt back, throwing several shuriken at Neji. Again, the Hyuga boy began to spin furiously, knocking the shuriken right back at Naruto. They all whizzed by, barely missing the blonde. As the blonde came to a skidding halt, sliding backwards on both feet and hands, he was surprised to hear a voice behind him.

"It's over. You are within the field of my Hakke. Hakke Rokujuyon Sho."

…

_'That stance… It can't be…'_

…

_FWUMP FWUMP_

_FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP_

_FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP FWUMP_

_FWUMPFWUMPFWUMPFWUMPFWUMPFWUMP…_

Soon, the strikes became so fast, it was impossible to discern when the last strike had been struck and when the next strike would strike. It seemed to be a blur of movements, Naruto continually being struck by Neji, whose hands were moving at an impossibly fast pace.

_THOOMP_

With the final strike, Neji sent Naruto flying. The blonde crashed to the ground, and didn't move. Neji smirked, thinking he had won, when…

_POOF_

The downed Naruto disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke, leaving behind a very pissed off Neji.

_'Dammit! Where the hell is he?'_

"Hmm… So that's your great move? Not bad, not bad. Now, it's my turn. Kuchiyose!"

'_No! I have to stop him!'_ Neji thought, running at Naruto.

"no…"

_'Dammit! Almost…'_

"Jutsu!"

_THWOKK_

Neji was sent flying backwards by a headbutt from rather powerful looking dog. This one was not much larger than Kuromuri, but it was definitely more powerful. Every muscle in the dog's body rippled with each movement he made.

"Are you okay, Naruto-san?" the dog asked, genuinely concerned for the boy.

"Hahaha. Yeah. I am now, thanks to you."

"Good. Now, we must finish him off quickly. He is a Hyuga, is he not?"

"Er… yeah…"

"Hm. This will be most interesting."

Neji slowly rose to his feet, struggling to stay conscious. That last blow was actually much more powerful than most observers would've given credit for. The blow was chakra enhanced, and the speed at which Neji had been running at only added to the pain. His guts felt like they'd been reorganized, and Neji coughed. Blood splattered to the ground, and some was dribbling down his chin. "D-dammit…" He looked up in time to see the large dog charging at him again, and leapt to his right, in order to avoid collision, only to be greeted by…

"HERE I COME!" Naruto began running at Neji, a strange blue orb in the hands of the blonde.

'_Fool!'_ "HAKKESHO KAITEN!"

"RASENGAN!"

_FWAAAAAAA_

_THOOOOOOOOOM_

There was a blinding explosion of light that erupted from the two young contestants. There was an explosion that soon followed. It wasn't exactly big, but powerful. The concentrated swirling energy of the Rasengan had come into contact with the powerful Hakkesho Kaiten. As the dust began to clear, there was clearly one person standing, the other sprawled on the ground. The audience looked on with anticipation as the dust began to clear, to reveal… an orange jumpsuit. If that wasn't proof enough, there was Hyuga Neji, not far off from him, his right shoulder shredded to the point where some white of the bones were visible. Naruto merely looked down at the Hyuga, and was overcome with an unexplainable sensation. As he began to walk away, the obvious winner of the match, he was stopped dead by a voice.

"Stop…" Naruto turned, to find the Hyuga boy barely on his feet, shaking unsteadily.

"Who said… we're done, yet?" Naruto looked with surprise as blood began to flow from the boy's shoulder wound, and yet, the boy did not even gasp in pain.

"You… Just give up now. It's over," Naruto said, looking Neji in the eye.

"I told you… I was destined to win…" In the blink of an eye, Naruto found that the other boy had come up right behind him.

"HAKKE! ROKUJUYON SHO!" As Neji began to throw his punch, his left arm was stopped in midair, caught by Naruto.

"Give up. Now." Naruto began to tighten his grip on Neji's arm.

'_Dammit… At this rate, he'll break my bone!'_ thought Neji, alarmed. He tried to use his right arm, but that was also caught.

"Neji… You may be of the Branch Family… But so what? Just you wait. Once I become Hokage, I'll change the Hyuga clan system. I promise you. But, until then, just please be nicerto Hinata, okay?" But, before Neji had even realized what had happened, he saw Naruto's blonde head come rushing at him.

The last thought he had before slipping into the dark unknown known as unconsciousness was, _'So… If he could change his fate, maybe I can too…'_

……………

A/N: Well, that was my fight scene. I hope Naruto didn't seem overpowered, because he wasn't. I just… I don't know. Just, comment on what you thought. Please? And I'm sorry if you don't like the fight scenes. I just need to do a scene with Naruto vs. Shukaku, and then it'll get… less… actiony? Yeah. And, in case anyone is interested, I will be going to Fanime Con 2006 being held in the San Jose Convention Center. I'm going on Memorial Day (aka Monday!). I don't know why I'm telling you this. I'm just excited for the con, I guess. And, in case you didn't notice, I used massive quotes from the manga for this chapter.


	19. Sabaku no Gaara

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Yay! One more days until I go to Fanime Con! Also, this chapter is setting up the fight scene between Naruto and Shukaku. Yay?

-Sabaku no Gaara-

_'Sakura-san… You've grown a lot more since the first time I've met you… When I first met you, you were that miserable crying girl, who was constantly made fun of her forehead. But now, looking at you…'_

"Naruto!" Having his name called out snapped the blonde out of his thoughts. He looked over to the source of the voice. It was a certain black haired boy, whose hair was tied back into a ponytail that strangely resembled a pineapple.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" the blonde demanded. Sure, people may have thought he was dumb, but Naruto still disliked being interrupted from his thoughts.

"Can't you sense it? Two very powerful chakra signatures…" Honestly, Naruto couldn't sense anything. He assumed it was because the Kyubi inside of him was always releasing so much chakra, that anything that wasn't too spectacular wouldn't be noticed… Wait! Naruto suddenly sensed a huge spike in one of the chakra signatures. Perhaps… Sasuke? But what kind of training would've allowed him to suddenly gain so much chakra? Perhaps, it was the other… Sabaku no Gaara.

_'Either way… We're headed for some deep shit…'_

…

_'Naruto… You've grown so much… I remember… Back during our Academy days, you used to be so happy and cheerful… Nothing ever seemed to get you down… But now… You're so… I don't know. Just… I'm glad, Naruto… we're both going to save Sasuke-kun…'_

…

"You… dammit," muttered Kankuro, holding Gaara's unconscious form. "What the hell do you want?"

"Feh. I thought it'd be obvious by now," came the cool, calm voice. "I want to fight… Sabaku no Gaara."

"Are you brain-dead?" Temari screamed, looking at the Uchiha boy. "Gaara's in no condition to be fighting right now, let alone an Uchiha!"

"Heh. So, you Suna-nin know of our strength after all…"

_'D-dammit… This guy… He's way too powerful…'_

…

"Halt, Naruto-san. I smell… Sasuke. And his scent is growing stronger. But, I smell others as well…" growled Kaihakugun, the large, gray wolf-dog that had assisted Naruto in his battle against Neji in the Chuunin Exams Finals.

"With Sasuke?" asked Naruto.

"Well, three… no… four others are with Sasuke-san, but there are perhaps ten… eleven chasing after us…"

"D-dammit…" muttered Shikamaru.

"In any case, we should keep moving," stated Kaihakugun.

"R-right," uttered Sakura, before they all left in a flash. Moments later, ten Oto-nin showed up. Their apparent leader frowned, and looked around.

"Dammit… they're getting harder and harder to track… We'd best keep following whatever clues are being left behind…" And with that, the ten Oto-nin disappeared as well.

…

"Heh. You, Uchiha Sasuke, will not be going any further until you face me, Kankuro!"

"I don't think that'll be necessary."

"WHAT?"

"I'll be your opponent… Aburame Shino."

…

"Ah! Gaara! You're awake!"

"Put me down…"

"But you're injured… You shouldn't be-"

"PUT ME DOWN, WENCH!"

"KYAA!"

…

"Naruto-san… The Oto-nin… They've stopped following us."

"Heh. Really? I guess that means the plan worked after all, huh, Shikamaru?"

"Tch. I guess. Man… Going after Uchiha… this is all turning out to be too troublesome…"

…

Uchiha Sasuke was speeding through the forest at a dangerously fast pace. He just barely ducked below a tree branch, narrowly missing decapitation.

'_I… I can feel it… His chakra… It… it's incredible… But I'll still beat him. This… this is like a test… Test to see if I'm worthy of fighting… _him_…'_

…

_THUMP_

Gaara and Temari looked ahead to where the noise came from. There, standing before them, was Uchiha Sasuke, sneering.

"Feh. So you're the great Gaara, huh? Tch. Disappointing. You're weak."

"Sh-shut up…"

"And all that big talk about wanting to fight me… You don't even deserve to fight Naruto!"

"Shut up…"

"And you thought you were-"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" A barrage of fist-sized sand balls went flying at the Uchiha boy. Sasuke was impaled by many, and some even managed to draw blood. However, as Sasuke fell, there was a puff of chakra smoke, and instead of Sasuke falling, it was a log. "Dammit… Where…"

_CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP CHIRP _

_CHYUUUUUUUUUU_

"UP HERE!"

_SCHLOCK _

Sasuke, currently, had his glowing hand stuck in the branch he was standing on, and was in the process of removing it, while Gaara was standing before him, sliced cleanly in half, a look of utter shock on his face. As he began to fall, he crumbled away into sand.

"Tch. Such a disappointment. I thought I'd perhaps gauge your strength by allowing you to believe you stood a chance of winning. But now that I see… You're a disappointment, Uchiha."

"Where?" Sasuke turned his head to the source of the voice. There, standing on a branch above him, was Gaara. His face carried the expression of utter hatred and loathing, and the aura of killer intent emanating from his body was unbearable. Sasuke flinched, and that cost him. Suddenly, he was struck from behind by a powerful blast. As he went flying, he repositioned his body in midair so that he landed on a tree branch with both feet rather that his head. He looked up at Gaara, who was now sneering at the Uchiha. Sasuke threw a flurry of shuriken and kunai at Gaara, only to have them stopped by the Suna no Tate, the Shield of Sand. However, Gaara was surprised to hear the chirping of birds again. As the Suna no Tate fell away, he was greeted by a fist to the face, which, surprisingly, wasn't blocked by the Suna no Tate. As Gaara flinched, he felt nothing.

_'Bunshin?'_

_SCHLOCK _

The scene that stood before Temari greatly surprised her. There, standing before her, was her younger brother, Sabaku no Gaara, who had a hand impaled through his upper-left back. The source of that, standing behind him, was Uchiha Sasuke, whose Chidori had ripped right through Suna no Tate.

_'Wh-what the hell… Such… such power…'_

Gaara turned his head around, until he was glaring at Sasuke through the corner of his eye. On his face was a grin, but not a happy one. It was the grin of insanity, the grin of malicious intent.

"Perfect. Now, you shall feel true terror."

_'Oh shit! Gaara! Don't release-' _

_UUUUAAAAAHHH!_

……………

A/N: Ahh… sorry, folks, for the late update. I've recently had a lot to do, so I'm sorry the chapter was so crappy, and took forever to upload, but here it is. Hopefully, it'll sustain you until I can find the time to write the fight scene between Naruto and Shukaku. I originally meant to make it just one mega-chapter (by my standards, at least), but I just can't bring myself to it. So, hopefully, no one is too pissed about the late update. Sorry!


	20. True Feelings, True Strength

A/N: Well folks, here it is. The big fight between Naruto and Shukaku/Gaara. I hope you enjoyed these last couple chain of fight scenes, because I intend on not writing any more for a while. So, without further ado, here's the chapter!

-True Feelings, True Strength-

_UUUUAAAAAHHH!_

Gaara, or someone who was supposed to be Gaara, had suddenly vanished.

_'Dammit… I didn't even get to see this "new" Gaara… what the hell… Is he really that powerful?'_

_THWAK_

Sasuke was sent flying off the branch he had been standing on moments before, crashing through many more branches until he came to a sudden halt, via crashing against a rather large tree. As he fell, he was caught by something.

_'Wh-what the… sand?'_

"Get up, Uchiha. I'd rather not kill you right now. That feeling… the feeling of… pain… I want more! I NEED MORE!"

Sasuke was barely able to stand now. The damage done to him was far greater than Sasuke could've expected.

_'D-dammit… If only I didn't use the Chidori so recklessly…' _

_SHHFF_

Sasuke could feel himself slowly sinking into the sand. _'What the hell?'_ He quickly jumped out, landing on a branch near him.

"Heh heh heh… So you have a will to fight after all…"

"You…" But before Sasuke could continue, he felt a presence behind him.

_'What the-'_

"Surprise, surprise," came that voice. It was Sabaku no Gaara. Or, at least, who Sasuke assumed to be Sabaku no Gaara. The difference here was that Gaara's entire right side of his body was completely transformed by sand into something that strangely resembled a tanuki (a raccoon-dog). The Gaara/tanuki grinned at him, and the massive right arm of sand shot out towards the Uchiha. Sasuke barely dodged in time, feeling the effects of crashing through branches innumerable. He flinched, the pain becoming greater and greater with every move. That, of course, was disastrous. The moment Sasuke flinched, Gaara launched himself at Sasuke, traveling at speeds incalculable. He appeared right behind Sasuke, having bounced off of a tree nearby. He engulfed Sasuke's arms and legs in sand, and yelled, "Sabaku Soso!"

_CRUNCH _

_POOF_

"Urgh…Too close…"

"Feh. Not bad, Uchiha. But that's just it. Not bad. You disappoint me. Surely the Uchiha clan could do better? No wonder it was all killed so easily by a single member of your own kind… No doubt he did it out of disappointment, having a weak family like that."

"Shut… up…"

"But, why he had let you live, I do not know. Perhaps he had thought you would grow up to be powerful, just like your brother. Heh. Won't he be disappointed."

"Shut… UP!" Consumed by his fury and will to win, the Ten no Juin began to spread over Sasuke's body, covering him in flame-like markings.

"What… another kekkei genkai, perhaps?"

"CHIDORI!" Sasuke's entire arm seemed to glow as he flew through the air. He didn't care what would happen to him after the battle. For now, all that mattered was the here and now.

_SHMMFF_

As Sasuke plunged his hand into the shocked-looking Gaara, the grin on Sasuke's face disappeared. Slowly, Gaara began to form cracks all over his body, and one by one, the pieces fell away, revealing a hollow Gaara.

_THWAK_

Sasuke was sent flying yet again, a powerful punch delivered to his side, knocking the wind out of him. However, he was lucky this time, and landed on a branch without having to crash through many. He lay there, feeling the effects of Ten no Juin. He could feel himself slowly slipping away, his conscious thought slowly disappearing. His body grew weak as Ten no Juin drained him of his chakra. _'D-dammit…'_

Gaara launched himself at Sasuke, flying at dangerous speeds. "YOU ARE UNWORTHY OF LIVING, UCHIHA!"

_THWAKK_

"Don't… touch… Sasuke-kun…"

_'S-Sakura?'_

"Grr… damned wench… Let's see how you like your 'Sasuke-kun' dead!" Gaara's transformed right arm shot out, flying at Sasuke's body.

"SASUKE-KUN!" Sakura cried, jumping in front of the said boy, pulling out a kunai. She braced herself for the impact, and as the hand came at her, she embedded the kunai into the hand. She was immediately struck by the hand, and her last though before slipping into darkness was, _'I hope you'll acknowledge me now, Sasuke-kun…'_

The hand formed a chain of sorts, wrapping around Sakura's now unconscious form.

_'Dammit… Sakura… chan…'_

"Blasted wench! YOU WILL DIE! SABAKU NO-" However, Gaara never finished what he had to say.

_THWOKK_

Gaara was sent flying upwards as an uppercut was delivered to his chin by the blonde.

"Let… Sakura… go…"

As Gaara went flying through the air, he used his sand to catch himself, and brought himself down slowly, spitting out the blood that had gathered in his mouth.

"Damned brat… I'll kill you along with the rest of you worthless friends! NOW DIE!" However, Naruto couldn't help but laugh as Gaara, who had been releasing a powerful killer intent just moments ago, was suddenly doing jumping jacks, making faces, and blowing raspberries.

"WH-WHAT THE HELL?"

"Heh. Kagemane no Jutsu. Annoying, isn't it?"

"GRR… DAMN… YOU!" With that, Gaara ripped himself out of the jutsu, causing Shikamaru to go flying backwards. Gaara launched his right arm again, this time, at Shikamaru, successfully binding the lazy genius as well.

"D-dammit! Let him go, too! It's just you and me now!" At this, Gaara grinned evilly.

"No… I don't think I will. Instead, why don't you fight me for them? Winner takes all… In other words, you can free them only by killing me. And, the more time goes by, the more they will be crushed, until…"

"DAMMIT! SHUT UP! I'LL DEFINITELY KICK YOUR ASS!" _'What… what's wrong with me? Shikamaru… he's not that important to me… not as a friend… And Sakura… I told myself that I was over her… That it was some stupid kiddy crush… What… what's going on? What… what is this feeling inside of me… This crazy twisted churning feeling… This feeling of…'_

"Well, you talk big. Now let's see if you've got the skills to back those words of yours!"

_THWOKK_

Gaara was suddenly launched into the air, a powerful upwards kick having connected with his chin.

_'Wh-what the hell? He's fast… I'd better-' _

_THWUMFF_

Again, Gaara was delivered a powerful blow, this time to his back. He was now flying downwards at a dangerous pace.

_'What the hell? Again? But he-' _

_TMP_

Gaara righted himself, and slowed himself with his sand in midair, landing lightly on the branch he had been standing on before the two unexpected attacks.

"Let… Sakura-chan… GO!" Gaara felt a powerful burst of chakra from behind him, but when he turned around, he found nothing.

'_Since… since when had Sakura become Sakura-chan?'_ Sasuke wondered. The Ten no Juin was slowly starting to recede, but he still felt weak, having used most of his chakra against Gaara. _'And… and since when had he become so powerful? Not even back in Nami no Kuni…'_

"GUUUAAAAHHHH!" Gaara let out a howl of pain. The sand began to consume the rest of his body. He soon came to resemble a tanuki, albeit a rather large, human-sized one. He grinned, glaring at Naruto, eyes changed. Naruto took notice of the eyes. Before the transformation, the eyes hadn't been as cold or murderous. Sure, they were filled with anger, but there was also a trace of sorrow in them as well. But now… now the eyes were just plain wrong. The eyes alone released far more killer intent than Gaara had ever released, even at his angriest. The grin… it seemed out-of-place, somehow. It wasn't a happy, but it wasn't like Gaara's other, much crazier grin. No… This… The very being leaked out dark intentions.

_'This… this can't be good…'_

"You… you should be proud," said the transformed Gaara. "Not many have been able to drive me into this state… Be proud that you will die… at the hands of the TRUE SABAKU NO GAARA!"

"Tch. Who's dying?" Naruto said, unsure of what he was saying. But, the unsure feelings never showed through. Instead, he closed his eyes, calming himself. It was one of the many things his early sensei, Hatake Kakashi, had told him.

_"Remember guys. When in battle, never let your emotions show. The least of all, should be nervousness, indecision, or any emotions that would betray your weakness. Hide those well, and you will be nearly unstoppable."_

'_I remember… Kakashi-sensei… Your teachings… Ero-sennin's, too. Everyone… Iruka-sensei… Sakura-chan… Hokage-sama… Even Sasuke… san…'_ Naruto added, smiling. _'Everyone… I hope you will all acknowledge me now…'_

"Why are you smiling, fool? Happy that your meaningless existence is finally coming to an end?"

"You wish, you eyebrow-less freak. You think my existence is meaningless? What kind of a loser would tattoo 'ai' (love) to his forehead? If anyone's existence is meaningless… It's yours." Apparently, Naruto had touched on a sensitive spot. He suddenly found himself surrounded completely by sand. It was a complete sphere around him, allowing no light to come in. But, more pressingly, no oxygen could get in.

"You know," came the muffled voice of Gaara from the outside, "I was going to kill you quickly and painlessly, but now, I will let you suffer…" The sphere slowly started to close in on Naruto. He could feel himself starting to grow claustrophobic as his arms were pushed to his body, his knees forced up to his chest. "Now… DIE!"

_THOOOOOOM_

The sand exploded, not inwards, crushing the blonde as Gaara had intended, but outwards, some even striking against him. There, standing, panting heavily, was Naruto. His body was completely enveloped by red chakra, his eyes a feral shade of red. The unintentional killer intent being released was enough to even make Gaara falter, if for a moment. Regaining himself, Gaara smirked.

"I thought that might've taught you a lesson… But you're persistent. So… I'll let you see… why… all in Sunagakure no Sato… fear me… Sunagakure no Bakemono…"

"Psh. You think you have a monster inside you? You don't know…" However, Naruto trailed off as more and more sand began to form around Gaara, until Naruto was no bigger than the big toe of 'Gaara'.

"Wh-what the hell…"

"FOOL," the voice rumbled, "YOU THINK YOU ACTUALLY STOOD A CHANCE AGAINST ME? NOW, YOU SHALL SEE HOW SADLY MISTAKEN YOU WERE! TANUKI NEIRI NO JUTSU!" Suddenly, the very atmosphere around the giant creature suddenly changed. Everything seemed deathly silent. When the creature finally spoke again, it sent shivers up both Naruto's and Sasuke's spines.

"NOW, INSOLENT BUG! YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME? LET'S SEE YOU TRY!" The voice was different. Before, although heavily laced with malicious intent, there was some trace of humanity left in it. But now… now… It was pure evil.

"D-dammit… Sasuke… Sasuke!" Naruto yelled, suddenly realizing his original mission.

"What?" came the voice he had hoped to hear. It was weak, but still had life in it.

"You… you're safe. Go. Run. Take Sakura-chan and Shikamaru and run."

"I… I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because…"

"FOOLS! I GROW WEARY OF WAITING! PLANNING WILL DO YOU NO GOOD! JUST ACCEPT YOUR FATE AND DIE!"

"OI! SHUT UP! LET ME FINISH TALKING, THEN WE CAN FIGHT!" yelled Naruto. The Gaara/tanuki was dumbstruck, to say the least. A meaningless bug had just insulted him! Naruto muttered under his breath, "Bastard Gaara."

"I can't leave because… because…"

"Because what, dammit?"

"Kakashi-sensei."

"What?"

"Remember? He once told us in one of our training sessions…"

_"A shinobi who breaks the rules is called trash, but a shinobi who leaves his comrades behind is even worse than trash…"_

"Now's not the time for one of Kakashi-sensei's stupid games! Leave now! Save Sakura-chan! And Shikamaru, too," Naruto quickly added the last sentence, not wanting to hint anything.

"Move, idiot!" Sasuke jumped at Naruto, knocking both Naruto and himself off the branch onto another, crashing rather painfully. However, that pain was nothing compared to the pain Naruto would have felt had he stayed where he was. Gaara/tanuki's foot had come down crashing, stomping trees flat.

"Th-thanks… Sasuke…"

"Just shut up and let's go!"

"N-no…"

"What?"

"I said no!"

"Don't be an idiot! Now's not the time to play hero!"

"I KNOW THAT, SASUKE! BUT SAKURA! And… and Shikamaru, too."

"Naruto… All right… I'll help you."

"No."

"W-what?"

"You're already too hurt. Leave this to me."

"I… I… all right…" Sasuke sighed. Looking into Naruto's eyes, Sasuke saw determination, an iron will unable to be bent by any outside forces.

"NOW! LIKE I PROMISED, YOU BASTARD, I'LL FIGHT YOU!"

"ABOUT TIME, BRAT! I WAS GROWING BORED. NOW, HOW DO YOU INTEND TO FIGHT ME?"

"LIKE THIS! YOKO NO HENGE!" There was a massive explosion of chakra, knocking Sasuke backwards. Even Gaara/tanuki had to plant his feet firmly into the ground to stay standing. However, what he saw next stopped him dead in his tracks.

"K-Kyubi… Kyubi no Yoko…"

"Heh. Now you know. The Kyubi… I am the jinchuriki for the Kyubi…" Naruto's voice was now deep and grated, just like the Kyubi's.

"D-dammit… Well, no matter. This is merely a henge. It will wear off in due time. Now… Futon: Renkudan!" A large ball of air, tightly compressed by chakra, came flying out of Gaara/tanuki's mouth. It hit 'Kyubi', but rather than the massive puff of chakra smoke that he was expecting, it merely dissipated. "W-what the…"

"Did you think this was such a simple henge, Gaara?" boomed 'Kyubi'.

"Gaara? Ha! Who the hell do you think you're talking to? I am none other than the mighty Ichibi no Shukaku!"

"Ichibi no… Shukaku?"

"I grow weary of talking… Now… DIE!" Shukaku screamed, charging at the 'Kyubi.'

At the threat, 'Kyubi' merely yawned and struck out with one of its tails, ripping the right arm clean off. The sand hovered in the air for a bit, before dissolving and flying back to Shukaku to reform as the right arm.

"HAHAHA! DID YOU THINK I WOULD BE DEFEATED SO EASILY BY A CHEAP IMITATION? INSOLENT FOOL! NOW FEEL THE WRATH OF SHUKAKU! FUTON: RENKUDAN!" More blasts of air came shooting out of Shukaku's mouth, all heading straight for 'Kyubi'. This time, however, none of the balls of air came into contact with 'Kyubi', for the tails of 'Kyubi' had lashed out, dissipating all the giant balls of air coming at him.

"NOW, IT'S MY TURN!" roared 'Kyubi'. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" There was a massive puff of chakra smoke that surrounded the 'Kyubi', and soon, 'Kyubi' had well over one hundred Naruto's on his back. Kyubi charged at Shukaku, locking claws with it, while lashing out with its tails. However, the tails slowly began to shrink away, one by one. In fact, it had been doing that for a while now, but was doing so now at a greater rate. _'Dammit… I used too much chakra for this stunt… I'd better finish this… and quick!'_

"FOOL! AT THIS DISTANCE, NO ONE CAN SURVIVE THIS, NOT EVEN YOU! FUTON: RENKUDAN!" Again, balls of air compressed by chakra shot out, ripping at the flesh of 'Kyubi'. 'Kyubi' roared in pain, but stood firm. The Naruto's on his back began to climb one by one onto Shukaku's head, each drawing kunai and shuriken, preparing to launch them at Gaara. However, when the projectiles neared Gaara, the sand around the boy would rise up, protecting him. "FOOL! ONE DIRECT HIT, AND YOU DIE! FUTON: RENKUDAN!" This time, Shukaku took his time gathering all the energy in to one massive ball, rather than several smaller balls. As this left Shukaku, 'Kyubi' leapt back, trying to avoid the imminent doom. However, the ball still struck 'Kyubi', square in the chest. It ripped right through him, and 'Kyubi' let loose a howl of pain, before…

_POOF_

'Kyubi' disappeared in a massive puff of chakra smoke.

"WH-WHAT? KUCHIYOSE? IMPOSSIBLE!" raged Shukaku.

"No!" yelled one of the Naruto's on Shukaku's head, smirking triumphantly. "Not Kuchiyose. Merely another Yoko no Henge combined with Kawarimi." And with that, Naruto ran up the forehead of the dumbstruck Shukaku, avoiding the blasts of sand that shot out, trying to decapitate the boy. Naruto soon reached Gaara, and jumped at him, only to be stopped by the wall of sand that suddenly rose before him. "Dammit… this won't be easy… Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A puff of chakra smoke, and two Naruto's were standing where only one was before.

"FOOL! YOUR WEAK BUNSHIN'S ARE NO MATCH FOR ME!"

"Won't matter now!" Naruto countered, as he held his hand out, waiting as the Kage Bunshin quickly powered up his Rasengan. Soon, there was a ball of blue energy in his hand, spinning rather dangerously. Naruto continued to add more and more chakra to the ball, and the ball grew bigger and bigger. He dispelled the Kage Bunshin, and charged at Gaara again. This time, however, he was prepared. When the wall of sand rose before him, Naruto struck it with his Rasengan, quickly destroying the wall of sand. He jumped through the rather massive hole created in the sand and flew straight at Gaara, ready to strike him down, when…

_SHLUMF_

SHLUMF

_SHLUMF_

Naruto soon found himself being held back by multiple hand-shaped spires of sand, mere centimeters away from Gaara. Both his hands and feet were held back, leaving him without any means of attack. At least, that's what was supposed to happen…

_THWAKK_

Naruto head butted Gaara, striking the red haired boy squarely in the forehead, instantly waking him. As his eyes snapped open, pieces of Shukaku began to fall away, crumbling. As it began to rain sand, two boys found themselves falling dangerously to the ground. As both boys neared the treetops, they both managed to land on a tree, glaring angrily at each other.

"After all this, I feel… so tired… so empty… You too, right?" declared Naruto, glaring at the other boy. "I finally reached my limit with that final blow… We are the same, you and I… Let's make this the end of it!" With that, both boys jumped at each other, flying through what little distance there was between them. As they drew nearer and nearer, both boys drew back a fist, ready to strike the other boy down…

_THWAMM_

Naruto's hand came crashing into Gaara's face, sending the red haired boy flying down at the ground at a faster pace than the blonde.

_THWMF_

_THWMF_

Both boys crashed into the ground, Gaara a lot faster than Naruto.

'_Wh-what?'_ though Gaara, looking at Naruto. He had just been beaten! Him! He was none other than Sabaku no Gaara, a shinobi of Sunagakure no Sato! No one had ever managed to land a blow on him before that green wearing freak, Rock Lee. But this… This was unthinkable.

…

The sand began to fall slowly away from Sakura and Shikamaru. Sasuke jumped to first catch Sakura, who was closer, then to Shikamaru. He laid them both on the ground, looking at their pained expressions. Ten no Juin still hadn't worn off, and Sasuke was beginning to feel really weak now. He began to look for Naruto and Gaara.

…

Naruto was now dragging himself along slowly and painfully by his chin, heading towards Gaara.

_"Winner takes all… In other words, you can free them only by killing me."_

'_What… That guy is dragging himself over here?'_ thought Gaara in amazement, watching the blonde slowly make his way towards him. "My existence won't be put out… It won't be put out! Will I be saved?" Gaara cried out, hoping to scare the blonde into stopping.

"Urgh!" Naruto cried out in pain. _'Take this guy… He wants to destroy because of what happened in the past… So what reason do I exist for?…' _Naruto thought, looking over at Gaara. His thoughts soon turned to Haku, whom he had last seen months ago… _'I thought I was like her… No… Not quite like her… And that this is the worst pain I know… A world where one's existence is called unnecessary…'_

Gaara was now staring at Naruto, fear evident in his eyes. He couldn't help himself. He felt so vulnerable, lying there, his body completely out of chakra, while this… this… monster, was crawling towards him, a look of determination in his eyes. "D-don't come any closer!" Gaara cried out.

"Being alone… Being incomplete… What you must feel… What your pain must be, I understand that…" Naruto said, looking at the other boy. His eyes contained nothing but pure sorrow, as tears began to form in his eyes. As the tears slowly rolled down the blonde's cheeks, Gaara could only look on in shock. "But…" continued the blonde. "The people that are precious to me, to be able to… The people that are precious to me… If you are hurting them…" Naruto's eyes suddenly turned blood red, his pupils becoming slits. "If you are trying to kill them… I will stop you."

"What the…" Gaara could only mutter, as he watched the blonde's head drop. "What? Until now, for the sake of other people, you've…" Naruto raised his head again, glaring at Gaara with those unholy eyes of his.

"Because they rescued me from the hell of being alone… They acknowledged my existence… That's why they are all the most important…"

"Love…" Gaara muttered to himself. _'That's why this guy is so strong…'_

"That's enough, Naruto…" came that calm voice. "Sakura is all right now. This guy has run out of chakra… Sakura has been saved from the sand…"

"Is that so?…" Naruto said, looking at Sasuke, smiling.

However, Sasuke wasn't smiling. He noticed two familiar presences, and looking up, found Temari and Kankuro standing before him.

However, before fighting broke out, Gaara said, "That's enough… Stop it."_ 'A maelstrom… Is that what you are, Naruto?…'_

'_This is the first time I've seen him completely exhausted.'_ "I understand," said Kankuro, slinging Gaara's left arm over his shoulders. With that, the three Sand Siblings left.

…

"Temari… Kankuro… I'm sorry…"

"It's… It's nothing…"

…

_'Sakura-chan… You're safe… I don't know why, but I feel so glad. This feeling… before, I thought it was rage, rage against Gaara who had dared to harm you… But even now, when I heard that you were safe… I felt it again… What is this feeling, Sakura-chan, that I get whenever I think of you now? This feeling… It hurts, Sakura-chan, but it also feels so good…'_

……………

A/N: Ah, jeez. So sorry guys. School's been a real bitch lately, so I've had to kinda slowly work on this. Hopefully, it was worth it. So please, please forgive me! And review, too! I'd especially like some reviews on this chapter. Please? Thanks! Also, I seem to use a lot of quotes from the manga. So if you don't like it, I'm sorry, but that's how I am! But from this chapter on, I've got plans in store, so there probably won't be as much quotes… So, anyways, sorry! And please review! Bye!


	21. Unexplainable Feelings

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Ah, it's been a while now. I seem to be falling behind in my updates lately. And for that, I apologize. However, with the end of school approaching, my teachers decided that it'd be funny to watch us students squirm as we rush to get our projects finished while studying for the tests one week before the finals, and then the finals itself. So, expect delayed updates until July. From there, I'm not sure. My summer will be busy too, and I will be gone for several days at a time, the most being 8. However, these will be rare, so I'm not sure what you all should expect. If you read this, then you'll know about and expect the delayed updates. If you didn't, I have no reason to apologize later on. Anyways, here's the exciting near-conclusion of the Chunin Exams/Invasion of Konoha Arc.

-Unexplainable Feelings-

_'Sakura-chan… You're safe… I don't know why, but I feel so glad. This feeling… before, I thought it was rage, rage against Gaara who had dared to harm you… But even now, when I heard that you were safe… I felt it again… What is this feeling, Sakura-chan, that I get whenever I think of you now? This feeling… It hurts, Sakura-chan, but it also feels so good…'_

……………

"Sandaime-sama!"

"Urgh… I-I'm fine…"

"But sir! You've lost too much blood! Orochimaru, that bastard…"

"It's okay… I…"

"GET A MED-NIN SQUAD HERE, QUICK! SANDAIME-SAMA NEEDS IMMEDIATE MEDICAL ATTENTION!"

……………

_When Orochimaru attacked Konohagakure no Sato and fought his once-sensei Sarutobi, also more famously known as Sandaime Hokage-sama, he did not expect such wild results. When the news of the defeat of Sabaku no Gaara reached Konoha despite the bitter struggle, many Suna-nin turned tail and fled, leaving the Oto-nin sorely outnumbered. Demoralized, they began to surrender or to run, leaving behind Orochimaru and his faithful Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shu, the Sound Four. Running low on chakra and desperate, Orochimaru couldn't believe that after all these years, his now senile-sensei could be so powerful. Realizing his situation, he has Otogakure no Shinobi Yonin Shu attack Sandaime in a last-ditch effort to kill him. However, with the Shishienjin gone, the anxious Konoha shinobi attack the now unguarded battlefield, desperately trying to save their Sandaime. Cursing his foolishness and inability to think clearly for that split second, Orochimaru orders what remaining subordinates he has to retreat._

……………

A pink haired girl was sitting on a park bench with a certain raven haired boy, awaiting the arrival of their comrade and teammate and their ever late sensei. However, this was strange. Although the orange clad boy was sometimes late, he had never been two hours late. As Sakura blushed at the though of having spent two hours alone with the Uchiha boy, she managed to squeak, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun." A look of annoyance and curiosity evident on his face, the Uchiha boy turned to the pink haired girl, raising an eyebrow questioningly. Sakura only blushed more at the show of any emotion at all, and this time said more audibly, "Thank you, Sasuke-kun, for that time you saved me from Sabaku no Gaara…"

"No," came the reply from the Uchiha. There was something wrong, though. His usually cold, emotionless voice betrayed hints of fear, anger, and most amazingly, awe.

"What?" Sakura said, barely above a whisper.

"The one who saved you was… Naruto…"

"No way. You're just being modest," said Sakura, smiling at Sasuke. "Sure, Naruto is getting stronger, but that sand guy-"

"It's the truth," said Sasuke, cutting Sakura off. "To save you, that guy risked death. Up until now, you haven't really seen him, so you haven't seen his strength either."

This left Sakura very confused. _'Wh-why would Naruto… risk death? I mean, him and me… Sure, we're teammates, and maybe even friendly towards each other on good days, but… death? No… He wouldn't… Would he?'_

As Sakura pondered over this revelation, she felt Sasuke stand. Looking over, she saw Sasuke watching two figures approaching. One was walking lazily with his silver hair to one side, and the other was wearing a bright orange jumpsuit. Yep. Definitely Kakashi-sensei and Naruto. As she saw the two figures approach, she could make out pieces of their conversation carried over by the wind.

"…Akatsu… after … no Yoko?"

"Yes. They're… of nuke-nin… S-Rank…"

Although Sakura could piece together that a bunch of S-ranked nuke-nin were after some sort of mystic fox (that's what yoko means), she couldn't tell who or what it could've possibly been. Instead, she decided to pursue more pressing matters…

"Where were you two?" Sakura yelled, jabbing her index finger at the two approaching figures. They both looked at each other, then at Sasuke. Sakura saw Sasuke shake his head from the corner of her eye.

"Nowhere in particular, Sakura," said Kakashi, his visible eye coming together to create his 'smiling eye'. Sakura looked at Naruto, meaning to glare at him, but her recent conversation with Sasuke left her blushing when the blonde came into her view. However, this went unnoticed as Naruto stood there, unmoving, apparently in deep thought.

To break the silence, Kakashi coughed slightly, grabbing all three genin's attention. "Well, the reason I wanted to meet you three, despite not having any missions planned, or training, for that matter, was because… well… I was bored." Sakura face-planted.

"IS THAT WHY YOU CALLED ME OUT TODAY?" she yelled, jabbing her index finger at the silver haired jonin.

"Well, not really, but at least you got to spend some time with Sasuke, right?" said Kakashi, smiling at Sakura. She blushed when he said that.

Naruto, upon hearing that, couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed inside, despite himself._ 'Sakura… spent nearly two hours alone with Sasuke? Who knows what they could've talked about! Maybe… maybe… maybe Sasuke even accepted a date from Sakura?'_ When Naruto looked at Sasuke, he was greeted by Sasuke shaking his head again. At this, he felt the strange feeling of tension release within his body, and sighed.

"Anyways, Sasuke, I'd like to talk to you. Naruto, Sakura, you're both free to go."

"THAT'S IT?" Sakura screamed, but was simply given another smile and a nod from her sensei. She was sending death-glares at her sensei now, which all went by unnoticed. However, when she saw the orange figure starting to move away, she quickly sent a final death-glare before chasing after the orange figure.

…

"Sasuke," Kakashi said, looking at the Uchiha. They were now in an interrogation room of sorts, having left the park 5 minutes ago. Sasuke looked up at his jonin-sensei questioningly. "I know of the Juin Jutsu you received from Orochimaru, and, I'd like to ask you, will you go after him?"

Sasuke merely looked down, suddenly having new-found interest in the table that sat between himself and the silver haired jonin. "I… I… What's it to you?" Sasuke snapped, disliking the way his sensei was trying to size him up.

"Because… I know of your kind, Uchiha… the life of an avenger. However, I'd like to ask you, what will you do after you kill your brother? What will you live for then?"

"I…"

"Exactly. You don't know. Let me tell you, Sasuke. Don't go after your brother. Instead of trying to avenge and reprimand your previous bonds, protect and nurture the new ones, the ones you have with your teammates. Trust me. It is much better that way."

"WHAT THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW?" Sasuke yelled. "HOW THE HELL WOULD YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE THOSE WHO ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU, HUH?"

"I know because… all that were once close and dear to me are now dead." This left the raven haired boy speechless. He couldn't fathom how his sensei, _the_ Hatake Kakashi, the chronically late jonin who didn't seem to have a care in the world, could go on like this after losing all who were dear to him.

"I…"

"Let me tell you one thing before I let you go Sasuke. Orochimaru… You're going to him for power, correct? Then, consider this carefully. What good would it be to go after someone like him who lost to his sensei, who is now an old man nearing the end of his life? Long past his prime, Sandaime-sama has managed to defeat Orochimaru. Now tell me, Sasuke. Are the Uchiha not the most powerful clan in all of Konohagakure no Sato, even more than the Hyuga? Then, tell me, Sasuke, how would it look for your clan if you went after someone as weak as Orochimaru, hm? An Uchiha, the last survivor of the greatest clan in perhaps the entire shinobi world, chasing after someone who has managed to lose to an old man long past his prime. You may go now." Kakashi suddenly ended his speech. This… this man… he was right. How would it look if the most powerful clan in all of Konoha chased a weakling like Orochimaru?…

…

"Naruto!" said Sakura, chasing after the quickly retreating form. Still, he made no move to stop. She ran up to catch him, and put her hand on his shoulder. However, when he finally did turn, his eyes betrayed his emotions. "Naruto… were you… were you crying?" she whispered.

"Wh-what? D-don't be ridiculous!" Naruto snapped, wiping his eyes with his palms. "I just had something in my eyes!"

"O-okay, Naruto," Sakura said timidly.

_'Wh-what? No smart remarks today? No head-bopping or name-calling? No telling me how great Sasuke is?'_ "Sakura-chan," Naruto said, concern deeply etched into his voice, "are you okay?"

"D-did you… Did you just call me… Sakura… chan?" asked Sakura, unsure if her ears were correct. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise, and he clamped both his hands over his mouth and shook his head vigorously. The corners of Sakura's lips tugged ever-so-slightly upwards. "Okay then, Naruto. How's about you and me go out and get some ramen? My treat."

"Er… okay…" Naruto said, unsure if his mouth would betray him or not.

……………

A/N: A bit of a short chapter, but I hope that's okay. Now, before people start to spam me about the whole deal about whether Uchiha are stronger than Hyuga or not, please allow me to explain myself. In this context, Kakashi said that to reinforce his point, and to make Sasuke feel better about himself and take greater pride in his clan to make him want to chase Orochimaru less, a tactic we often call 'flattery' or 'sucking-up'. I understand that in combat, an Uchiha could be outmatched by the Jyuken of the Hyuga clan, but for Kakashi, it was much better to keep things simple. There. Now please don't flame me about that whole ordeal. Anyways, expect an update sometime in the middle of the week (even earlier if I get lucky).


	22. Thanks

Disclaimer: Own Naruto, I do not.

A/N: Well, I thought I'd get off my lazy ass and write up a chapter in the time that I had. So, here it is.

-Thanks-

"_Thanks, Naruto."_

"_What for, Sakura?"_

"_For… for risking your life… for giving it your all… to… to save… me."_

"_What… what makes you think that, Sakura?"_

"_Because… because Sasuke-kun told me…"_

_"Oh…"_

"FOCUS, BOY!"

"Wh-what? Huh? Oh. It's just you, Ero-sennin."

"Bah. How many times have I told you not to call me that?"

"Well… whatever. Anyways, why did you drag me along with you again? I'll bet it's something dirty, like a 'research trip' or something like that…"

"Boy! Do you not pay attention to what I say? I told you, it's to find an old colleague of mine to help Sandaime-sama! After his battle against that snake-faced bastard, Sandaime-sama had suffered grievous wounds, and needs this colleague's help!"

"Huh? Did you say something, Ero-sennin?"

"GAH! YOU'RE SUCH A BRAT!"

……………

_And so, Uzumaki Naruto and his perverted sensei, Jiraiya, journeyed forth, traveling from one gambling town to another. Throughout all this, Naruto had been under constant training and supervision of Jiraiya, growing stronger each day. Soon, weeks had gone by, and the duo came to stop at a well-known haunt of Jiraiya's colleague…_

……………

"All right, Naruto. Like with any other stops we've made, you go check into our hotel, do some chakra molding exercises, then practice one-handed Rasengan, and if you have time, practice that new jutsu I taught you."

"Oh! You mean-"

"Shh!" Jiraiya hissed, slapping his palm over the boy's mouth. "Don't say the name of the jutsu be in public… It's a new secret jutsu I've been developing… No one else knows it!" the white haired man whispered.

"Right! Well, see you later, Ero-sennin!"

However, unbeknownst to both, two figures were watching them from the seclusion of a dark alleyway.

"So… Is that him?" asked a gruff voice. This shadow was taller than the one next to it.

"Yes… This will be… easier… than I thought…" From the shadows, two faint red lights seemed to emanate from the second shadow's eyes…

…

"Stupid Ero-sennin… Always running off, leaving me… But I suppose that's okay, 'cause he always brings me ramen. But the ones he brings are crappy… Nothing at all compared to a bowl of Ichiraku… Man… I want Ichiraku so much right now… Guh…"

…

A certain white haired man let out a long, slow sigh_. 'Man… If it wasn't for that sixth bottle of sake, I'm sure I would've managed to stay conscious… Stupid brothels and their stupid rules… And this stupid hangover… I hope Naruto hasn't done anything stupid…'_ He slowly climbed the stairs to his designated hotel room, where Naruto was supposed to be staying. Upon reaching the room, he began knocking on it softly, as to not hurt his sensitive ears.

…

A soft knocking came from the other side of the door. Naruto looked towards the source of the noise. He thought he heard someone cuss softly outside, and smiled. _'Heh. I guess Ero-sennin got himself drunk again and now has a hangover… Hehehe… serves him right. I'll make it even worse if he forgot my ramen…'_ And with that, the blonde began stomping his way loudly over to the door…

…

The loud stomping from the other side of the door was driving Jiraiya crazy. It was like trying to listen to a metal concert in the midst of stampeding elephants. He readied himself and his ears for the loud, stern lecture that he was about to give to his obnoxious blonde student, which would probably be countered with lots and lots of yelling. The door opened, and he saw a flash of yellow.

…

Naruto opened the door, and began to yell, "WHERE THE HELL-" but stopped short when he saw someone besides his usually drunk pervert of a sensei. Instead, there was a tall, pale blue man who strangely resembled a shark with a large, bandage wrapped object on his back, which Naruto assumed to be some sort of zanbato. Next to him was someone who was shorter than the blue man, but still towered over Naruto. He had two scars running down each side of his nose, starting from where his eyes were to ending around his mid-cheeks. Or her. He couldn't tell. In a way, the shorter figure carried a dangerous and proud air, suggesting that the figure was a man, but the way the figure looked, Naruto would've assumed the figure to be a woman. However, all his doubts were put to rest when the shorter figure spoke.

"Ahh… So _you_ are Uzumaki Naruto… Come with us… We must speak with you…"

…

Jiraiya saw a flash of yellow, and steeled his ears for the yelling that would ensue, when he heard a faltering voice say, "Who… who are you, mister?" Jiraiya rubbed his eyes, still blurry from the alcohol, and looked at the boy closely. Although he was blonde, his eyes were a deep hazel, and rather than a screaming orange jumpsuit, this boy wore a red t-shirt and black shorts. This boy had a sense of fashion!

"I-I'm sorry…" mumbled Jiraiya, mentally slapping himself on the forehead. "I must have the wrong room." And with that, he left a very confused blonde scratching his head, when a voice from inside the room called him back to the dinner.

"Damn… I must've had the wrong room… Or the wrong hotel… Excuse me!" Jiraiya said as loud as he dared, stopping an employee walking by. "What… what floor am I on?"

"Erm… The third?"

"And… and what hotel is this?"

"Uh… The Hotel Grande."

"Crap," Jiraiya whispered. "Thank you." With that, Jiraiya left a concerned/scared/confused hotel employee and began his slow and painful descent down the stairs to find the correct hotel.

…

"Come with us… We must speak with you…"

"Wh-who are you guys?" Naruto asked, barely above a whisper.

The tall, blue one answered, "We… or I… am like you. I, too, am a jinchuriki. However, this man beside me… He is far greater than I… even with out a biju!"

"Silence!" commanded the shorter, now confirmed, man. "You may know me as a criminal where you are from… but that is incorrect. Think back, Naruto-san," Naruto noted the added -san suffix, "who was one of the few back in Konohagakure no Sato that has ever shown you any kindness?"

"I… I remember… Iruka-sensei… And Sandaime-sama, too… Also… I'm not sure… but I think I remember a black haired man helping me once… He gave me my first bowl of ramen…"

"Yes. Now you know me." Naruto's jaw dropped. This man before him had introduced him to the first love of his life?

"I… I…"

"But that is not important. What is important is that we speak with you. Do you know of your terrible secret? That you are-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm a jinchuriki housing Kyubi no Yoko."

"Good. Then this will be easier than I thought. I would like to ask you, Naruto-san," again with the suffix! "to come join our organization. We are deemed criminals by the uneducated masses, only because we accept what they consider 'trash' when, in reality, it is treasure we are housing! Like you and Kisame-san here, both are."

"Wh-what?"

"In short," interrupted the pale blue man, "we help rejects to train and become stronger. What you do after that is completely up to you. However… our methods of receiving funds are sometimes deemed… dishonorable…"

"So you steal stuff?"

"Only what we need, and only when the idiot shopkeepers refuse to sell to us," replied Itachi. "We will take our leave now… But please expect to see us back in Konoha…" And with that, they both disappeared. Not later, Naruto heard some mumbling coming from down the hall, and stuck his head out. There, standing holding his head, was his white haired perverted sensei. Forgetting the annoyance that had once resided within him, Naruto rushed to help his troubled sensei. Halfway back to the room, Naruto suddenly remembered what he was so angry about, and decided to…

"ERO-SENNIN!" The scream was as surprising to Naruto as it was to his sensei. He meant to make him suffer, but not this much. Looking at him now, Naruto wondered, did the foaming at the mouth and eyes rolled all the way to the back of his socket mean he went too far?

……………

_Naruto and Jiraiya soon got over this little dispute and continued to search for Jiraiya's colleague. They soon found her… passed out on a park bench. Standing near her was a flustered black haired woman whom Naruto soon came to know as Shizune. With much hard work (and a _lot_ of sake), Naruto and Jiraiya managed to convince the blonde colleague known as Tsunade to agree to return to Konohagakure no Sato…_

……………

_One week after the return of Tsunade…_

"Sakura!" a voice called to her. No matter how many times the voice called out to her, she just couldn't get used to being called upon without any malice or hate from that voice.

"Hm? Oh. Naruto. Um… hello…" said the pink haired girl, looking down at the floor. It had been about a month and a half since she had been rescued by the boy, and she still couldn't look him in the eye.

"Hey. So… what did you want to meet me for?"

"Naruto… I… wanted to say… thanks…"

"Again? Sakura, seriously. At first, it was kinda cool, you know? But now, it's just getting annoying. So please stop, okay?" Sakura couldn't help but flinch. He was now the second boy to ever tell her she was annoying… The first being Sasuke after Sakura had relentlessly pursued a date with him after a training session.

"Oh… okay… Well, see you later, Naruto-san…"However, the suffix went unnoticed as Naruto was suddenly struck by a pang of guilt as he saw the girl change from embarrassed but happy to embarrassed and sad.

"S-Sakura!" he called out. "D-do you want to… go grab something to eat?"

"S-sure, Naruto-san." However, it did not go unnoticed this time. Realizing her sudden mistake as Naruto looked at her confusedly, she slapped her hands over her mouth and shook her head vigorously as she saw Naruto open his mouth to form a question. However, Naruto got the answer he was looking for.

"All right then. But this time, it's my treat."

"Oh… all right… Thank you… Naruto…"

……………

A/N: Well, a (short?) chapter setting up the scene for the next arc. I'm sure this may have been a surprise to you all, but in this story, the Akatsuki are different. I won't necessarily say anything about their motives, though… Hehehe. Anyways, I've recently noticed that people seem to… request… a bunch of different pairings without reading up to the latest chapters. Also, if you expect me to take your review/suggestion/request seriously, please make an effort to at least type somewhat coherently. Thanks.


	23. Good Bye

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: _sigh_. I'm so sick and tired of people complaining about how OOC these characters can get. Well, I'd like to say, THIS IS A FREAKING AU! So please, don't complain about OOC-ness. Thank you. Now, the next exciting chapter of Konoha's Greatest Ninja!

-Good Bye-

Sakura and Naruto were sitting side by side in Ichiraku, both noiselessly slurping up ramen. Sakura, from time to time, stole glances at the blonde sitting next to her, blushed, then resumed eating. This, of course, was unnoticed by Naruto as he happily slurped up his noodles. The silence was slightly discomfiting; yet, it was much better than talking. As they sat there, they suddenly felt two subtle chakra signatures behind them. They both turned simultaneously to come face to face with a rather tall, pale blue man and a slightly shorter, yet still considerably tall, black haired man. Naruto's eyes seemed to brighten up.

"Ah! It's you guys!"

"N-Naruto…" Sakura whispered, "You… you know these guys?"

"Huh? Yeah! Why? Is something wrong?"

"Ah… Naruto-san," said the shorter, black haired man, "I see you still enjoy this delicacy…"

"Feh. Enough idle chitchat," the shark-like man said. "Will you accept or not?"

"I… I don't know…" Naruto muttered, his head hanging.

"Tsk tsk, Naruto-san," reprimanded the black haired man, "Indecision is a sign of weakness. Well, no matter. Come meet us at the Valley of the End by tomorrow night if you should choose to accept." Then, he glared at Sakura, who seemed to freeze upon making eye contact. "I trust you didn't hear anything?" the man said, more stating than actually asking. Sakura shook her head from side to side. "Good girl." And with that, the two disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves.

"Hmm? Was that another customer I heard?" asked the owner, coming out of the back room, carrying a pack of unopened noodles. Both Naruto and Sakura shook their heads to say 'no', and left, leaving several crumpled bills and coins on the counter.

…

"N-Naruto…" Sakura said, as they walked through the park. They seemed to do that a lot nowadays. At least once a week they'd meet, have lunch, take a walk, then part.

"Hm?"

"Y-you know who those men are, don't you?"

"Well, I know the black haired one…"

"_whew_… You know."

"Well of course! He's the man who gave me my first bowl of ramen!"

"Wh-what?"

"Yeah, for real! When I was three, I was once beaten up real bad by the villagers, and as I stumbled my way home, I passed by Ichiraku. That guy walked out then, took a look at me, ordered a bowl for me, paid for it, and left! Seriously!"

"But… but he's… Uchiha Itachi…"

"What?"

"Yeah… He's responsible for the death of the entire Uchiha clan, having only left Sasuke alive…"

"N-no… No way…"

"And the blue guy, I'm not sure, but he might be Hoshigaki Kisame, a member of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu… The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist…"

"You mean… you mean like Zabuza?"

"Hm? Oh! Yeah! Like Zabuza!"

"Hmm…"

"N-Naruto?" Sakura asked again, her voice faltering.

"What is it?"

"Are you… are you really going to go?" At this question, Naruto's mood suddenly changed. He stopped walking, and looked down at the ground, not saying anything. Sakura wasn't sure how much time passed before his head rose, making eye contact. The eyes were steely cold, full of determination.

"What ever choice I make, Sakura," he said rather coldly, "don't try to change my mind." That shocked Sakura. Although he didn't come out and say it, the message was clear: He was leaving.

"But… but why, Naruto?" But there was no reply. Naruto merely turned on his heel and headed off the opposite direction, leaving behind a very worried and scared Sakura.

…

Sasuke was breathing heavily, his chakra nearly depleted from his training.

"That was good, Sasuke!" came the voice of the Sandaime Hokage. "That'll be enough for-"

"No," Sasuke said, collecting himself. "I need to get this down before I leave. What good will it be if I can't even learn a jutsu like this?"

"Sasuke," began Sandaime, "Katon: Karyu Endan is a very powerful jutsu, B-Rank, in fact, and you should not expect to master such difficult jutsu in just a single session. That'll be enough."

However, before Sasuke could argue, the door to the private training room burst open, and in ran a very scared looking and flustered jonin messenger, who burst out, "Sandaime-sama! Uchiha Itachi has been spotted within village walls!" However, before he could realize his mistake, he felt himself being pushed to the side by a short, black haired boy he recognized to be the Uchiha survivor. Sarutobi merely groaned, while the jonin messenger looked at the Sandaime worriedly. Then, the Sandaime disappeared in a puff of chakra smoke, and the jonin was left alone in the training hall. "Uhh… Crap…"

…

Sasuke knew this was his chance, to see how much he'd grown since his brother had massacred his entire clan, leaving only Sasuke alive for who knew what reason. Sasuke was racing down the streets when a familiar flash of pink caught his eye. Soon, he found Haruno Sakura running alongside him.

"Now's not the time, Sakura. I'm looking for-"

"I know, Sasuke-kun," she interrupted, her face grim, her voice containing no traces of that sing-song tone that she held whenever she was talking with him. "You're looking for you brother, Uchiha Itachi. But I really need to talk to you."

"I told you, not now!"

"But it's about Naruto!" Sakura pleaded. "And your brother is involved, too!" That did it. Sasuke stopped dead in his tracks, turned around, and stopped the oncoming Sakura, taking her by her shoulders. His grip tightened on her, and he shook her slightly.

"What is it? What's my brother want with Naruto?"

"Please, Sasuke-kun… not here… Somewhere more… private…"

…

'_Damn that idiot!'_ Sasuke thought angrily, racing through all of Konohagakure on Sato in an attempt to find his blonde teammate. _'Doesn't he know who he's getting involved with? Itachi… who knows what he'll do to Naruto… Dammit!'_

As he continued his search, he was so deeply immersed in his thought that if it weren't for the screaming orange jumpsuit that his teammate wore, he would've missed him.

"Naruto!" Upon hearing his name called, Naruto turned around, storing away the kunai he had purchased in his waist pouch. He saw it was Sasuke. Dammit. Maybe Sakura had told him? "You… you're going after my brother, aren't you?" Yep. She had definitely told him.

"What's it to you?"

"You… you don't know who you're getting involved with here, Naruto!"

"Really, Sasuke, is that true? Do I really not know?"

"Of course not, you idiot! My brother-"

"Yes, he killed the entire Uchiha clan. I know that."

"Then… then why are you still willing to go after him?" Sasuke said, his voice barely above a whisper, fighting desperately to keep the emotion out of his voice.

"Because… because he was willing to acknowledge me, to accept me for this… this gift, that I have… This power…"

"What… what are you talking about, Naruto?" Then, Sasuke remembered. Back when Naruto was fighting Sabaku no Gaara, he had used a strange jutsu, Kyubi no Henge… "No… you… you can't… You couldn't…" Sasuke said, taking a step back involuntarily.

"Heh. See what I mean? Now that you know… even you are unwilling to stop me. Now leave me alone, Sasuke… I need to prepare for the journey…" And with that, Naruto left a shuddering Sasuke, eyes still refusing to leave the blonde's back.

_'How… how could he… No… it's not possible…'_

……………

It had taken the blonde the most of the day to pack for his trip, sorting through all his belongings to decide what was important and what was not. He had an especially hard time when it came to his storage of ramen. He just couldn't decide what flavor to bring, so, in the end, he decided to bring one of each. However, even that was too much, and was forced to only bring miso, chicken, barbeque, and seafood. Along with that were several scrolls, an extra set of clothing, an extra pair of sandals, his entire set of shuriken and kunai, and even his sleeping cap. When later asked why by Kisame, he would only glare, then give his foxy grin.

When he had finally finished packing, Naruto looked over his room one more time. He left silently to go to his favorite haunt one last time before leaving… The Hokage Monument.

Standing on the monument, Naruto could see Konohagakure no Sato in its entirety. Before Naruto had left, the clock he had said it was sometime around 11:50 PM… Meaning now, it was well past midnight. Looking over the village, he began to think.

'_This… this is it. If I leave now, I don't know when I'll come back… Or if I even will, at all… Sarutobi-jisan… Iruka-sensei… Ero-sennin… even Sakura-chan and Sasuke… I'm sorry, everyone… But I must… I… I guess I'll see you all when I get back, eh?'_ And with that, Naruto left the monument, his mind no longer willing to linger in the past. After all, this very village was the cause of his going away. For far too long have they disrespected him, for far too long have they treated him like some sort of criminal, like… like…

'_A demon…'_ Yes. A demon… And he knew why…

As he walked over the bridge, he heard a soft voice call out, "Naruto." However, in the silence of the night, the voice rang loud and true, stopping the boy in his tracks. He turned slowly, not wanting to face the person who had called out to him.

"S-Sakura…" he whispered.

"So… so you're leaving?" However, the question was met only with silence. The blonde had turned away from the pink haired girl, looking down at the ground. "Why?" the pink haired girl spoke again. This too, however, was met with silence. "Why, Naruto? Why?"

"…"

"We… we were just getting to know each other… I… I was finally starting to understand you, Naruto…" Sakura broke down. She began to sob, quietly. She took a shuddering breath. "We… Naruto… I…" Sakura was at a loss for words. She desperately wanted her newfound friend to stay…

"No," was his simple reply.

"Wh-what?" Sakura managed between shuddering breaths.

"You… you have no idea… The pain… The loneliness I had to go through… The pain of being scorned everywhere I turned… Mistreated for something that I didn't even do…"

"Wh-what are you talking about, Naruto?" Sakura said, now growing concerned.

"Heh. You wouldn't understand, Sakura, to have an inner demon." This was growing more confusing by the second now. What did he mean, 'inner demon'? Perhaps it was a second personality? But if so, it couldn't have been that bad, right? She herself had an 'Inner Sakura' that would appear from time to time… "Just don't come after me… You… or anyone else…" And with that, Naruto turned on his heels, facing away from the sobbing girl. He began to slowly walk away, not daring to look back…

Sakura was devastated… She didn't know why, but Naruto… she had grown more attached to him than she had thought. Perhaps it was because he had saved her life? Yes… She knew that if she let Naruto go to those men, then he would surely die, and she knew she couldn't allow that… It would be as if she herself had killed Naruto… So she did the only thing that came to her mind… She ran after Naruto, catching him in a hug from behind. As she held the blonde boy in her arms, she could feel his body tense up.

"Sakura," he said, barely above a whisper, "I told you… Let me go…"

"Only if… only if you promise," she said between her sobs. "Promise… to not leave…"

"I'm sorry, Sakura," he said, slowly pushing the girl's arms off him. She moved to tighten her grip, but she felt him vanish in a puff of smoke. Now, standing where Naruto once was, was a log.

She heard from behind her, "Good bye, Sakura… chan…" And with that, she felt the blonde brush pasther and walk down the path towards the gates, leaving a weak legged Sakura behind slumped on the ground, sobbing into her hands.

……………

A/N: OMG! Naruto leaves for Akatsuki? Hahaha! Find out what happens next chapter! Please comment on what you thought about this chapter, folks. See you!


	24. Getting Back Naruto

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

A/N: Ahh… So we now know of Naruto's leave, but how will the others react to it? Read on to find out!

-Getting Back Naruto-

_"Good bye, Sakura… chan…" _

_"N-Naruto! Come back!" However, Naruto did not stop walking, Instead, he seemed to walk faster and faster, while Sakura slowed down… Suddenly, Itachi and Kisame appeared right next to him… Slowly, Itachi drew a kunai… Naruto was unaware… Sakura had to warn him! Yet, when she tried to yell, no voice came out. Instead, she could only watch on as Itachi drew the kunai back, and plunged it into Naruto, spraying blood everywhere…_

"NARUTO!" Sakura yelled, rising quickly in her bed in surprise and fear. She was sweating… "D-dammit, Naruto… why'd you have to leave? …" Sakura looked over at her bedside alarm clock, which now said '5:24'. Judging by the faint light growing outside, she knew it was in the morning. _'That's it. I've waited too much… Who knows how far he could've gotten… I've got to tell Sandaime-sama about this!'_ And with that, Sakura changed out of her nightclothes into her regular red dress and biker shorts. Strapping on her hitai-ate, she left her room silently through her window.

…

_All throughout the night, Naruto walked on, not stopping for fear of being chased by Konoha ninja. However, he kept himself at a steady pace to not tire himself out. When he saw the first hints of sunrise, he decided that he had walked enough for one night and found himself a secluded area hidden by tree roots and bushes to rest himself in, if only for an hour…_

…

_knock, knock, knock_

The noise surprised the Sandaime Hokage, who had just entered his office not half an hour ago. Who could it possibly be at this unholy hour of the morning? Collecting himself, Sarutobi said, "Come in." The door opened to reveal a pink head of hair, and the Sandaime knew immediately who it was. "Sakura? Is something wrong?" The girl looked down at the floor, her bangs covering her eyes. However, the Sandaime didn't need to see her eyes to know that something _was_ wrong. "Sakura," he said in a gentle voice, "why don't you sit down and tell me what's happened?" Nodding, Sakura took a seat across from the Hokage to recount her tale…

…

The brushing noise instantly snapped Naruto awake. He didn't know how long he'd been asleep, but he was sure it was more than an hour, judging by the amount of light there was now. He shook his head to clear it. Taking a slow drink from his bamboo canteen, Naruto opened his pack to find… ramen. Damn. What had he been thinking, bringing ramen along? He wouldn't be able to boil any water, first of all, and he wouldn't have any pot to cook it in either!

'_Well, a ninja can only ask for so much…'_ And with that, Naruto opened a random packet he grabbed from the bag, and began to munch on the raw ramen noodles. _'Hey! Not bad!' _And with that, he resumed his long march to the Valley of the End, and to his new future…

…

After almost an hour of recounting a tale between broken sobs, the Sandaime had managed to piece together enough information to figure out what had happened. Jiraiya hadn't told him of this… Perhaps he'd not known? Then what the hell was he doing with Naruto while looking for Tsunade? Of course… It was Jiraiya…

Without saying anything, the Sandaime snapped his fingers. Instantly, behind Sakura appeared three ANBU members, all bowing on one knee to the Sandaime.

"You three… Go find Iruka, Jiraiya, Kakashi, and Sasuke and tell them to meet me here in ten minutes… Dismissed." And with that, the three ANBU members disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving behind a surprised Sakura and a grim faced Sarutobi.

_'J-Jiraiya-sama? And Iruka-sensei and Kakashi-sensei… Sasuke-kun, too… What… what could this mean? …'_

Less than five minutes later, all four males were gathered in the room with a very confused Sakura and a very worried looking Sandaime Hokage.

"I realize that this… interruption… may have been sudden, but it is important, nonetheless," began the Sandaime.

"Is it about Naruto?" interrupted Sasuke, eyeing the old man with steely eyes.

"In fact, Sasuke, it is."

"Wh-what happened to him?" the only chunin gathered in the room burst out. It was expected. The blonde had been close to him, like a brother…

"I was just getting to that," said the Sandaime, as calm as ever. "Yesterday, it has come to my attention that Naruto had been in contact with a few… acquaintances…"

"Dammit… what did the brat do this time?" Jiraiya muttered under his breath. Kakashi merely looked on with a bored eye, however, in truth, he was absorbing every word the Hokage had said like a sponge.

"The two of them have extended an… invitation of sorts to him, offering him power."

"Wh-who are they?" Iruka yelled again, growing anxious with each second that passed. He wasn't exactly sure where Naruto was, but the important thing was that Naruto wasn't there, with him! This was looking worse and worse each second…

"The two are… Hoshigaki Kisame of the Kiri no Shinobigatana Nananin Shu… and the other… our very own Uchiha Itachi."

"WH-WHAT?" This time, it was Jiraiya who had exploded. "B-but… they're…"

"Yes, I realize what the situation has unfolded itself into, and unfortunately, Naruto had stumbled unwittingly into their trap… The goal of all of you assembled… Jiraiya, Kakashi, Iruka, Sasuke, and Sakura… will be to seek out Naruto and bring him back to Konohagakure no Sato."

"Hokage-sama!" Iruka interrupted yet again, "I can understand sending even me, a chunin, but these two? They are merely genin, who barely got past the Chunin Exams! This… this can't be acceptable! It is too dangerous!"

"Iruka, I can understand your concern for your students," the Hokage calmly said, "But this goes beyond the call of a mission… Like my sensei had taught me… A shinobi who breaks the rules is called trash… But a shinobi who leaves his comrade behind is even worse than trash…"

"But…"

"That's enough, Iruka. Now, from what Sakura had told me, he is to meet the two nuke-nin at the Valley of the End by tonight… you haven't much time left… This is to be treated as an S-class mission, with Jiraiya leading. However, Sasuke and Sakura, you two are to follow the instructions of your jonin sensei, Hatake Kakashi. Understood?" When nods of confirmation was given by all in the room, the Hokage merely tipped his hat, and said, "Then go… Go bring him back… I must keep a promise I made to a friend of mine…" Wordlessly, the five exited the room, grim faced with determination.

…

Naruto had taken his time walking all day. He knew that if he began to tree jump, he would be there in less than two hours from his current location. No need for that now, when the sun still had to reach its peak. Naruto looked at the sky, allowing his mind to wander. As he did so, he felt his bangs brushing against his eyes, the hitai-ate no longer on his forehead, but stuffed in his backpack. If he were going to travel to foreign countries, no need for anything that would attract unwanted to (what Naruto now assumed himself to be) a nuke-nin. He wasn't sure how dangerous they would consider him, but considering the people he was leaving with, he guessed at least a C-rank…

This made him laugh. It was funny, in a way. He was leaving to gain strength that would hopefully someday allow him to become Hokage of the very village that now considered him a nuke-nin…

…

There were four figures rushing through the trees… A flash of white, brown, pink, then black. Soon, a flash of silver joined them. The white haired figure yelled out, "Anything yet, Kakashi?"

"No," was the reply from Kakashi.

"Damn… Just how far did this guy travel? Sakura!" the man called out. "When did you say Naruto left?"

"Umm… Around… around midnight," Sakura replied timidly. Not only was she shy being around one of the legendary sannin, but she was also worried… Worried for her comrade and newfound friend, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Dammit," the man cursed. "Assuming he only let himself sleep an hour or two, he could already be at the Valley of the End… But knowing Naruto, he probably let himself travel slowly, not wanting to rush things… If I'm right, he should be somewhere around the post town where him and me found Tsunade…" Then, with a silent hand signal, the five figures picked up their speeds.

…

"Do you think he'll be coming, Itachi-san?" The said man merely sat there, his eyes closed. When he finally opened them, they were glowing a blood red. Not a good sign.

"Yes… He will… But lateness will not be tolerated… If he wishes us to take him seriously, he must first take us seriously… He has now approximately 12 hours until midnight… the deadline for his arrival…

…

_And so, hours passed, Naruto slowly making his way to the Valley of the End, being chased by the five ninja from Konoha. They were rapidly gaining on him, but it was risky. Naruto had been moving faster than Jiraiya had guessed, and was well past the post town where Tsunade had been found. The sun was slowly sinking from the sky when the five would finally catch up to the blonde. But, by then, it would already be too late…_

…

"NARUTO! WAIT UP, DAMMIT!" yelled the white haired man, chasing after the said blonde. Ever since he had sensed them thirty minutes ago, the blonde had picked up speed, and had slowly gotten faster and faster. This was one of Naruto's advantages, having tremendous stamina. Soon, Kakashi had been forced to slow down for his two genin charges while Iruka fought desperately to keep up with his blonde friend and his white haired commander.

"Naruto!" the chunin yelled. "Please, wait for us! Speak with us, at least!" The only reply the two men received were incoming shuriken. However, they were all easily dodged, in exchange for valuable time.

"Damn… he deliberately missed us… Slowing us down…" the white haired man grunted, picking up speed again.

"Jiraiya-sama," the brown haired chunin said, "Please, do not let me slow you down! Go ahead of me and stall Naruto… I shall catch up to you, as well as Kakashi and Sakura and Sasuke."

"All right… But hurry up, Iruka. I don't think I can convince him by myself…" and with that, the white haired man was gone in a flash.

_'Naruto… please be smart about this… Please wait for us…'_ thought Iruka, fighting hard to speed up.

…

As the sun slowly began to sink behind the horizon, the land was painted with a beautiful yet saddening shade of orange. As the trees slowly gave way to grassy plains, Jiraiya was having a hard time keeping that orange blur in sight.

_'Dammit… who would've thought that brat's stupid jumpsuit would help him in a situation like this?'_ the man thought angrily, fighting to maintain the speed he was currently at. Now, it had been about forty-five minutes since the chase had started, and the blonde was slowly slipping through his fingers…_ 'I didn't want to have to do this, Naruto, but you leave me no choice…'_ he thought sadly, pulling out several shuriken. Finally finding the boy in the field of orange shaded grasses, he threw them at the boy, only to horribly witness as they sunk into the blonde's back, knocking him to the ground… The blonde gave a grunt before…

_poof_

The blonde was gone, leaving no traces behind.

_'Dammit! Kage Bunshin… I should've known…'_

He had not slowed down, and was slowly beginning to hear the roar of water in the distance…

_'NO! We can't be there yet! Naruto! Please… Don't be an idiot! Just… please wait for us, Naruto…'_

…

The blonde had finally made it. He was at the Valley of the End. However, he was not in the clear yet. His recent sensei, the legendary sannin Jiraiya, was hot on his tail. It wouldn't be more than a minute that he would arrive as well…

"Ah, Naruto-san," came that same cool voice. "Glad to see you made it, but… The others… This will be too much trouble… Especially since Jiraiya-sama is among them…"

"I know. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have taken my time coming here," said Naruto, looking over his shoulder expectantly.

"No. It is fine, Naruto-san," said Itachi, closing his eyes thoughtfully. "This will be a good way to gauge your strength…"

"What?" Naruto yelled, disgusted at the thought of even harming his comrades. When he had left, he hadn't expected that he'd be required to do this!

"Do not worry, Naruto-san. We will not kill them. Think of this as a… sparring session."

"I…"

"Heh. Don't worry, twerp," said Kisame, finally standing, "I'll take on the old geezer." Then, just when he said that, the said 'old geezer' arrived, panting, obviously out of breath.

"D-dammit, Naruto…" he said between breaths, "Don't be a brat, Naruto. Let us speak with you first."

"Sorry, old man," said the pale blue man, stepping between the sannin and his student, "If you wish to speak with Naruto-san, you'll have to get through me, first."

"I didn't want it to have to come to this…" muttered Jiraiya, rising to his full height. "But if it's a fight you want," he readied himself, sliding into his fighting stance, "it's a fight you'll get!"

……………

When Umino Iruka finally arrived at the Valley of the End, he was horrified at the intensity of the battle between the two men. Jiraiya, who was usually so laid back that even Iruka began to doubt his skills, was raging, his shirt ripped in several places. The other man, a pale blue figure who strangely resembled a shark, was wielding a giant blade with what appeared to be small blades attached to the actual blade itself. Strangely, Jiraiya was only using taijutsu, while the other man was using all sorts of ninjutsu against the white haired man. Disregarding the fight for now, Iruka allowed his eyes to wander towards the other two that were there… Uchiha Itachi and… Naruto! He was there, standing side by side with Itachi, arms crossed, watching the fight between the blue man and Jiraiya. He saw Naruto's lips move, then Itachi's. Apparently, they were carrying on a conversation as if nothing of interest were happening before their eyes… Perhaps Naruto was under the influence of a genjutsu? If that was so, Iruka would quickly put an end to it. He quickly drew a kunai and threw it at the black haired nuke-nin, but, as expected, the black haired man merely caught it with two fingers and threw it away. However, Naruto still had yet to stir… Perhaps it wasn't genjutsu after all?

Iruka suddenly felt a presence behind him, but… Itachi and Naruto were still there, watching the fight! Then… Iruka turned slowly, expecting the worst, and it was as he feared. Standing behind him was the black haired man known as Uchiha Itachi, in all his cool demeanor and silent deadliness.

"Y-you…" Iruka said, trying hard to not let his fear show through, "G-give us back Naruto, now!"

"… There is nothing _to_ give back," came the reply from the black haired man. His eyes, Iruka noted, were still onyx colored, meaning he had yet to activate his Sharingan… "Naruto-san came to us of his own accord, seeking acceptance from those who were willing to give it to him, despite what he contains."

"Shut up!" Iruka yelled. "You're not accepting him despite what he contains, but rather, _because_ of what he contains!"

"Hmm… You misunderstand us, just like everyone else, Iruka-kun," said Itachi, his voice unchanging. "You see… If not for the idiotic villagers, then Naruto wouldn't feel the need to come to us… If only you had all truly seen Naruto-san for what he truly was, a boy who was willing to do anything to be accepted, rather than what he contained, the Kyubi no Yoko, then perhaps he wouldn't come to us?"

"Th-that still doesn't justify your actions, Itachi!" Iruka yelled. "You all only want the strongest of the strongest, the most fearsome of those feared! You're only after Naruto for his power!"

"Again, you jump to conclusions, Iruka-kun," was Itachi's cool reply. "We are the only organization who is open to all those hated and rejected by society, whether they are feared for what they have done through their powers, or feared because of something that the world fears them for what they may become… Those who are feared for their great strength… Those feared… because of their potential… Those hated because they are different… Hated because of what they have done… In short, what the world deems as 'trash', we look underneath their shell, into the person… If deemed worthy of being accepted into our organization, we open ourselves to them. However, it is rare to find those who have been so mistreated by the world who still have even a shred of a moral idea… Of what's right and wrong…"

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT CRAP!" yelled Iruka. "YOU, YOU WHO HAVE SLAUGHTERED THE ENTIRE UCHIHA CLAN, DO YOU HONESTLY BELIEVE YOU CAN SPEAK TO ME ABOUT MORALS?"

"Hmm… You have truly been fooled, Iruka-kun… If you were not so important to Naruto-san, then you wouldn't have been alive for more than five seconds the very instant you thought to oppose us…" Iruka gave an involuntary shudder, when he felt three other chakra signatures very close by.

_'Kakashi! And Sakura and Sasuke, too…'_ Iruka thought. Apparently, Itachi shared similar thoughts, for his eyes suddenly turned a blood red, the three tomoe appearing as well. Itachi turned his back to the chunin, ready to face his adversary. _'Chance!'_ Iruka thought, drawing his kunai as quietly as he could. He rushed at Itachi, whose back was now facing him. However, he was quickly struck away by another Itachi who seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

The Itachi that had just appeared simply said, "Do not throw away the life I have granted you, fool. Leave now, if you wish to live…" And with that, the Itachi just disappeared in a puff of smoke.

_'A… a Kage Bunshin? How fast… I didn't even see him make the hand seal… Impossible…'_

"Itachi-san," came that calm voice of the silver haired jonin.

"Kakashi-san," Itachi replied.

"Before we are forced to fight," Kakashi said, his usual cool politeness showing, "I'd like to avoid any unnecessary bloodshed… So, if you could just let Naruto go…"

"As I have told Iruka-kun over there," Itachi said, jerking his head in the direction of the said chunin without even turning, "Naruto-san came to us of his own accord… We did not force him to do anything. If he so wishes, he may return to Konohagakure no Sato. It is not our place to stop Naruto-san. However, I will stop you should you try to drag Naruto-san away against his will…"

"Then it is unavoidable… I will bring Naruto back to Konohagakure no Sato, no matter what…"

"Then we shall fight…"

…

"Naruto!" Naruto turned his head to the source of the voice, dreading who it was. Yep. As he feared, it was Sasuke and Sakura, standing not ten meters away. The Itachi standing next to him gave Naruto a look that he couldn't quite figure out before poofing out of existence. "You… you bastard… Why the hell did you leave?"

"Because…"

"No. Don't even say it, Naruto! I don't want to hear your half assed pathetic excuse! There was no reason for you to leave us!"

"You… you don't get it, do you?" said Naruto, smiling a sad smile.

"Wha… What do you mean, Naruto?" This time, it was Sakura that spoke.

"Feh. Nothing, Sakura. Just… go back to Konoha, you guys…"

"No!" Sakura screamed, tears threatening to pour out again. "Not without you, Naruto! … Not without you…"

"Like she said, Naruto… we're not leaving without you."

"Sasuke… Please… just go back… now…"

"Are you hard of hearing, you idiot?" Sasuke challenged. "I said we're not leaving without you!"

"Go back NOW!"

"NO! NOT UNTIL YOU COME WITH US, YOU DAMN DOBE!"

"THEN WHY DON'T YOU MAKE ME, IF I'M SUCH A DOBE!" Naruto screamed, the childhood insult stinging deeper than he had expected.

"MAYBE I WILL, DOBE!" Sasuke screamed back, intent on bringing back his blonde idiot of a friend. "Let's go…" In a flicker, both boys disappeared. Throughout the plains, clash of steel against steel could be heard, ringing clear and loud. There were bright flashes from the sparks created by the kunai crashing against each other at such high speeds. Naruto and Sasuke skidded away from each other, becoming visible if for only a moment before returning to their struggle of power and speed.

Throughout the Valley of the End, battles were raging. Jiraiya was fighting desperately against Kisame, while Kakashi and Iruka were trying to hold up against Itachi's relentless attacks. But, most surprising of all fights was that of Naruto against Sasuke, each boy determined to not lose.

As Naruto went charging at Sasuke, Sasuke's movements faltered, if only for a moment. That was the opening Naruto was looking for. He skidded on his back, pushed against the ground, rising feet first, and connected with Sasuke's chins. However, as Sasuke went flying…

_poof_

Sasuke disappeared in a cloud of chakra smoke becoming a piece of log instead. Surprised and still in midair, Naruto could do nothing to defend against Sasuke's attack now. Taking advantage of the opening, Sasuke kicked Naruto in the back, hard. As Naruto went flying, he was stopped by a punch to his stomach by Sasuke again. As he felt the air escaping his lungs, he coughed hard, and felt warm liquid slowly coming up from his stomach. He tasted the bitter taste of iron, and quickly spit it out, seeing the red splatter against the ground. He glared up angrily at Sasuke, who was now glaring down at him, but his eyes…

"The… the Sharingan…" Naruto whispered. He saw Sasuke disappear from before his very eyes in a wisp of smoke, and immediately felt a presence behind him. He quickly jumped to his left using both his hands and knees, spinning dangerously fast in the air, closely resembling Kiba using the Gatsuga. As he landed, he darted forward, coming to a skidding halt on both feet and left hand, sliding backwards, having turned 180 degrees in midair to turn and face Sasuke. However, he was no longer there._ 'Wh-what?'_ Then it hit him. He jumped into the air just in time as two hands crashed out of the ground, groping at where his ankles had been mere moments before. In midair, he created a hand seal that was oh-so-familiar, and shouted, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Instantly, there was a puff of chakra smoke as ten Naruto's were in the air where there was once only one. Five of the Naruto's used the remaining five as support to kick off of, going down at where Sasuke was about to emerge. As the mound of earth began to rise, it all suddenly seemed to go in slow motion. The dirt falling off of Sasuke as he pulled himself out, the bunshin's flying by him, hands drawn back to punch Sasuke, the approaching form of Sasuke as Naruto himself was flying at him…

"STOP IT!" screamed a voice that he immediately recognized. However, he paid it no heed, each of the four clones connecting powerful blows only heavily enhanced by the speed of flying through the air. As each clone hit, they each yelled, "U!" "ZU!" "MA!" "KI!"… Naruto flipped in midair, dropkicking Sasuke, yelling, "NARUTO RENDAN!"

"SASUKE-KUN!" could be heard from the pink haired girl, the final kick having landed a heavy blow upon the back of Sasuke's head. As Naruto landed, he saw that Sasuke was still standing in midrise, having been shocked into paralysis from the heavy blow. Then, he slowly fell forwards, right into Naruto's arms.

"Sasuke…"

"Heh… you… idiot…"

"Shh… don't talk, Sasuke… I'm sorry… You… you were like a brother to me…" Naruto felt the hot liquid welling up in his eyes, threatening to spill out any minute. "I… truly loved you like a brother, Sasuke…"

"Heh…" Sasuke laughed, smiling despite the pain. "I… always knew… you… were gay…" Despite himself, Naruto couldn't help but smile as well.

"Not like that, you idiot… Honestly, Sasuke… to me… you were like the brother I never had… I'm sorry, Sasuke… for doing this to you…"

"You… idiot…" Sasuke said, "Sakura… she… really…" But that was all the raven haired Uchiha managed to say before slipping into unconsciousness. Rising, Naruto wiped his eyes with the back of his sleeve, and turned to face Sakura, who had slowly made her way to him and Sasuke.

"N-Naruto… and Sasuke-kun, too…"

"I'm sorry, Sakura… I did… what I had to…"

"Naruto…"

"Sakura, please… Don't try to stop me… I don't want to have to hurt you to…"

"Please… Naruto… don't leave us…"

"Sakura… I said-"

"Please! I beg you, Naruto! Don't leave! I… I'll do anything, Naruto! I'll even go on dates with you, if you still like me! I promise, Naruto! You… me… Sasuke-kun… the three of us… remember all the good times we had? Like in Nami no Kuni…"

"Where you completely ignored me and went after Sasuke…" Sakura flinched at the statement. She knew it was true, but she wasn't willing to give up.

"And… and the Chunin Exams…"

"Where you ignored me even more to pine after Sasuke…" Sakura could now feel the tears that had welled up in her eyes slowly escape, one by one.

"Naruto… I'm sorry… Please… If you won't come back… I… I'll fight you!"

"No, Sakura… You don't understand… I have to leave…"

"WHY, NARUTO?"

"You… don't want to know, Sakura… Trust me…"

"Naruto… I don't care what you may have done… Please… just come back…"

"No, Sakura… It's for everyone's good, as well as mine…"

"If you can't come back," cried Sakura, tears now falling freely down her face, "Then at least tell me what it is that is making you go away!"

"… Sakura… Have you ever felt… empty… inside? Like… You know you're alive… You move and breathe and everything… but inside… you feel hollow…"

"Wh-what? N-Naruto… What does that have to do with-"

"All throughout my life, Sakura… I've felt like that… Ever since I was a child… People have scorned me… Ignored me… Even hated me… That hatred… It hurt, Sakura… It hurt to be hated… To have people look upon you with hatred in their eyes… Hating you just for existing…"

"Please, Naruto… You can tell me anything… I won't think differently about you… I promise…" Again, Naruto smiled, his eyes revealing the true sorrow he felt deep inside.

"Sakura… You shouldn't make promises you can't keep…"

"Wh-what? Please, Naruto… No matter what prank it was you may have pulled… It couldn't have been that bad, right?" she tried to smile reassuringly at him, but only found herself crying harder, her breathing becoming ragged.

"Feh, prank?" Naruto scoffed, "You think it's because of some stupid prank? Sakura… You are too innocent… This… no… This… this is worse than any prank I could've possibly pulled… No… This… is about what's inside me…"

"Wh-what?"

"I can see no other way to convince you to let me go, Sakura… So I'll tell you…" Sakura felt a deep pang of fear spread out across her body, slowly, emanating from her chest. The tears stopped, now too scared too cry… "You see, Sakura…" This feeling of despair… What was it? "Inside of me…"

_'Please, Naruto! STOP IT!'_

"Is the…"

_'JUST STOP IT AND COME BACK WITH ME!'_

"Kyubi no Yoko…" Sakura gasped, taking an involuntary step backwards. This… this was why she was so afraid… But… This… This was Naruto, wasn't it? He said the Kyubi was inside of him… "Sakura-chan…" Naruto said. Sakura, however, failed to notice the suffix he used. Instead, she was captivated by his eyes. He was smiling, but his eyes screamed sorrow, depression, hatred, anger, and most frighteningly, loneliness… "This feeling… It hurts, Sakura-chan… This cramping of my chest… It feels like my heart is being crushed, Sakura-chan…" She could see the tears welling up in his eyes, and soon, the world around her blurred as she felt her own tears come out again. "This feeling… of loneliness… This hell of being alone… I guess… After all this time… I truly was… alone… after all… Sakura-chan… It hurts…" The tears were now coming down his cheeks, flowing over those whisker-like markings on his cheeks. Sakura felt her own tears rolling down her cheek, her eyes burning… "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… I hope you're happy… With Sasuke…"

_'NO! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT ANYMORE! I FINALLY UNDERSTAND, NARUTO!'_

"I hope… he can make you truly happy… Good bye, Sakura-chan… maybe… forever…"

"NARUTO!" Sakura screamed, shutting her eyes tight to try to stop the flow of tears. "IF YOU LEAVE NOW, NARUTO! … I… I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER!"

The tugging in his chest tightened… He couldn't breathe… He was seeing red… He shut his eyes tightly to stop the involuntary flow of tears increasing…

"SO PLEASE, NARUTO! COME BACK WITH US!"

"Sakura… I guess… You'll have to… hate me… I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… Good bye…"

"No… Naruto… Please… Just come back…" However, Naruto had already turned away, walking away to where Itachi and Kisame waited, having defeated their opponents quite some time ago, now watching the blonde carefully.

"NARUTO! I… I HATE YOU, UZUMAKI NARUTO! YOU TRAITOR! I'LL HATE YOU FOREVER! FINE! LEAVE US! I HATE YOU, NARUTO!" Now Sakura was hysterical, unable to stop herself. Instead of speaking how she truly felt, she was screaming just the opposite, pushing the blonde away even further…

_'Sakura-chan… This pain… It really hurts, Sakura-chan… Please don't say that, Sakura-chan… I'm sorry…'_ Naruto stopped, looking down at the ground. Sakura looked on, hoping. Perhaps that had done it? Perhaps that had stopped him? He slowly turned, and then she saw it… the tears… It wasn't just a small trickle of tear rolling down his face… He was sobbing, bawling, even. But his eyes, it was different. Instead of the deep cerulean, it was a crimson red, eyes full of anger, hatred, and malice. "I'm sorry, Sakura-chan!" he yelled. "I'm sorry you hate me, Sakura-chan! I'm sorry I'm leaving you! I'm sorry for everything, Sakura-chan! And I'm sorry, Sakura-chan… for… FOR EVER HAVING LOVED YOU!" With that, he turned on his heels and ran towards Itachi and Kisame. Having reached them, he wiped his eyes, still that feral shade of red. As a whirlwind of leaves began to engulf the three figures, Naruto turned to Sakura, and yelled, just before disappearing, "AND I'M SORRY FOR STILL LOVING YOU, SAKURA-CHAN!" Sakura gasped, unable to say anything. She merely fell to her knees, her body shaking involuntarily. She let out a choked sob, the tears now flowing down her cheeks… She let out all her tears, that day, on that very spot. When the others came to, they all heard Sakura saying, to herself more than anyone else, over and over again, "I love you too, Uzumaki Naruto… Please come back…"

……………

A/N: Ooh! Was that expected, or not? Hmm… And for the fight scene with Naruto vs. Sasuke, before anyone flames me about how quickly Naruto beat Sasuke, I'll tell you. It was because Sasuke didn't really want to hurt Naruto and was holding back. That's why he didn't use and ninjutsu, and Naruto… Well, he was desperate to leave, but, at the same time, desperate to keep his friends safe… That's all I can say. So, please leave a comment or something, telling me what you thought about it. Later!


	25. Epilogue: Naruto's Leave

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

A/N: Well, I must say, I really liked how the last chapter had turned out. Thanks to all the people who kept encouraging me throughout my works. I thank you all! So, without further ado, here is the next chapter of my (hopefully) beloved story!

-Epilogue: Naruto's Leave-

"I love you too, Uzumaki Naruto… Please come back…" She let out a choked sob, rubbing her eyes furiously, only worsening the already bloodshot and puffy eyes. "Please, Naruto… I love you… I'm sorry…" She felt a warm hand on her shoulder, and looked up to find none other than a very hurt, both physically and emotionally, Umino Iruka, squatting down to be on the same level as Sakura. From what she saw, Sakura could make out dried trails of tears on the chunin's face. He tried to smile at her, but rather than encouraging the girl, the sadness behind the façade only made Sakura want to cry more. Unthinking, she threw herself into the arms of the chunin, sobbing into his vest.

The chunin simply said, "I miss him too, Sakura…" Soon, Kakashi appeared, hoisting a stunned Uchiha Sasuke over his shoulder, and Jiraiya, looking very tired and beat up.

"Let's… Let's go home…" The others nodded in agreement to the sennin's words, rising slowly. Sakura had pulled herself away from Iruka as he began to rise, and now was rising, dusting herself off, fighting desperately to wipe the tears away. Tired and beaten, the Konoha ninja began to slowly return to Konohagakure no Sato, dreading the bad news they bore for the Hokage…

……………

_Two weeks after the failed retrieval mission…_

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, the dismal plitter-platter of the rain against her window only adding to her already depressed mood. She forced herself out of her bed, preparing for the grim training she would go through with her new sensei, Tsunade. The female sannin had agreed to teach Sakura medical ninjutsu. The reason behind it was very simple: Tsunade had felt that, in a way, the defection of the blonde had been partially her fault. Despite holding the boy near her heart as he reminded her of her own brother, Tsunade had paid him little heed, and was now wracked with guilt.

…

Sasuke was slowly walking down the wet pathway to the Hokage Tower, in deep thought over the loss of his friend.

_'Dammit… I… I wasn't strong enough to bring him back… Sandaime-sama will train me… I will become stronger, and then I will bring back that idiot and beat the crap out of him… That dobe…'_

Sasuke slowly opened the front doors, paying no attention to the greetings and salutations that came his way, grimly making his way to the training room. With each step, the boy grew more and more determined. Determined to get stronger, and determined to bring back his friend.

_'Dwelling on the past will not help my training… Itachi… You are no longer important to me… I will no longer try to retie my past bonds. Instead, I will try to protect the bonds that I have discovered… Naruto… You'd better not die, you dobe…'_

…

For two weeks now, the white-haired sennin had not gone 'researching', but instead, had spent that time diligently training himself.

_'I… was too weak… I had grown careless… If only I had spent more of my time training instead of peeping… But now, none of that matters. Naruto… My student… you… I will bring you back, you brat… Until then, don't do anything to get yourself killed… Stupid brat…'_

…

Despite the heavy rain, Hatake Kakashi was facing the stone memorial, reflecting on the failed mission. Unbeknownst to even himself, a single teardrop escaped his visible eye, and rolled down his mask.

_'I… I'm sorry, Obito… This boy… Naruto… He was so much like you, now that I think about it… And I failed to save him, like I failed to save you… I… I truly don't deserve to be a jonin, Obito… I failed another of my comrades… Like you said, Obito… I… am worse than trash… I… do not deserve your Sharingan, Obito… If only you hadn't been such a damned fool, trying to be a hero… Obito… I'm sorry…'_

…

Umino Iruka was quietly going through the blonde's apartment, having agreed to look after the room since the blonde's leave. When he had first entered, he wondered how anyone could live in this mess, piles of clothes all over the place, along with trash littering the floor… However, as the chunin continued to explore the boy's house, he began to notice a pattern. All the blonde's shirts had been messily dumped into one heap, all his pants in another… His socks and underwear were in another pile, and his jackets in a small pile by his bed. The trash, which at first seemed to be littering the floor, was actually a road of sorts. The wooden chopsticks on the floor surrounded the dirtier trash, such as empty ramen cups and old milk cartons, some empty, some still containing what was once milk. Iruka couldn't help but smile at the blonde's cleverness.

_'Naruto… You truly are one of a kind…'_

When the tanned chunin made his way to the bed where the blonde had once slept, he found a note. Curious, he opened it. What he read filled him with a mixture of emotions. The note said:

_To whoever is reading this: I'm sorry if I've caused you any pain. But you're probably happy that I left, since no one seems to care about me. I just hope that Iruka-sensei will understand… Please tell him I'm sorry, okay? I'm sure no one else will care, not even that damned Ero-sennin. He never seems to care about me or my training, and instead, goes on his dirty 'research' trips. And Kakashi-sensei… Although he did teach me some cool stuff, he seems to be spending more and more time with Sasuke and Sakura, and less and less with me. Sasuke. He… Tell him that no matter what, I will always consider him my brother, even if we're not related by blood or anything. He will probably laugh at me and call me weak, but please tell him that's how I truly feel. And… and Sakura… She's… Please tell her I (scribbled out). So, anyways, if you want, you can go ahead and have a party now, because the cursed carrier of the Kyubi no Yoko has left the village… Geez, I sound like a whiny twerp now that I read over what I wrote… I guess that Ero-sennin and the others were right after all… I (smeared by liquid… teardrop?) am a useless (smeared by more tear drops). (Smeared by teardrops again) really wanted to (smeared) and take the Chu-(smeared) but I gue-(smeared)… Tell Sakura (smeared) her…_

_-Uzumaki Naruto-_

Iruka was, in a way, glad, glad that Naruto had acknowledged him and his treatment of the boy. However, he was deeply disappointed that Naruto had failed to recognize Jiraiya and Kakashi, both who had deeply cared about the boy. He was relieved to see that Naruto hadn't left in cold blood (sort of), but rather, for the villagers… maybe. Also, Iruka felt touched by what the boy had wrote, even going as far as to call the Uchiha boy his brother… And Sakura… He had probably meant to write that he loved her… But that didn't matter, for it turned out that Naruto had told her that before he left. Iruka felt the hot liquids forming in his eyes, and was surprised. He… was crying… He thought that he had gotten that out of his system a week ago? But he didn't care… He was in the boy's room… He was being nostalgic… Of course he would cry… And in that room, alone, Iruka cried his eyes and heart out, grieving again for the loss of his little brother in all but blood.

…

"Naruto-san… First things first… Those clothes will have to go…"

"What? Why?" Naruto whined, hugging himself tightly, as if he didn't want his clothes to suddenly disappear from his body.

"They are too bright and flashy. They will attract unwanted attention… That is what we wish to avoid at all costs."

"But…"

"Please, Naruto-san. You may keep them if you wish, but-"

"Then do you want me to walk around naked? I didn't bring any different clothing!"

"No… We have brought a set of clothes for you… It may be a little big, but you will grow into them…" Itachi pulled out a simple black t-shirt, black pants, and a cloak similar to the ones he and Kisame were wearing. However, when Naruto picked up the shirt, he nearly fell over from the sheer weight of it.

"Wh-what the hell?" Naruto exclaimed, surprised.

"Heh. Those are special weighted clothes. They might be a bit heavy at first, but you'll soon grow into them," said Kisame, smirking at the blonde. When Naruto put the shirt and pants on, he could've sworn he was slowly sinking into the mud.

"Also," added Itachi, "We'll be traveling through very wet places, so you'll constantly need to release a set amount of chakra if-"

"Yeah, yeah, I know! Ero-sennin already taught me all that crap!" Naruto said, growing frustrated. He would release the amount required, but he was still sinking!

"Naruto-san… Do not forget to release extra chakra to compensate for the weighted clothes," Itachi said, interjecting Naruto's thoughts.

"Oh… Dammit!" Naruto said, getting mad at himself. How could he forget? Producing his foxy grin, Naruto concentrated the extra chakra and began to follow after Itachi and Kisame. The soft rain falling upon his shoulders, the padding of their feet barely touching the mud… It would be a long hard road ahead, but Naruto was ready… He was determined…

……………

"Sasuke-kun…" the soft voice said. The said boy turned around, not surprised to find the pink haired girl standing behind him. As he looked at her, he was aware of her emotions, and was overcome with sadness himself.

Softly, almost as if fearing to speak, the boy said, "Sakura… Let's go to Ichiraku… For Naruto…" The girl merely nodded slowly, showing no signs of cheering up. At one point, the girl would've done about anything to get the boy's attention… But now, after Naruto's leave, Sakura didn't know what she even wanted anymore.

"That… that sounds good, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, adding the -kun suffix more out of habit than anything else.

…

The two genin could be seen in the small stand, slurping ramen slowly. The owner looked down on them with a disapproving look on his face.

"What's the matter, you two? Is it bad? Did I overcook the noodle? Maybe the broth is cold…"

"N-no! I-it's perfectly fine," Sakura said hurriedly, giving the chef a smile. However, there was some sort of sadness behind the smile…

"Eh… It's about that boy, Naruto, isn't it? I heard the news, too… Never woulda thought he'd be the one to betray us… Smart boy, he was… A bit dull at times, but smart all the same…" This only seemed to sadden the two genin seated at the bar. Noticing this, the old man hurriedly added, "B-but pay no heed to the ramblings of an old man! Y-you two enjoy your bowls!" And with that, the man hurriedly shuffled into the back room, doing whatever ramen store owners did in their back room.

"Sakura," said the raven haired boy, looking over at the pink haired girl, "You… you really like Naruto, don't you?" The girl merely responded by slowly nodding her head, the fake smile being replaced by a look of sadness and concern. "Hn. Don't worry, Sakura. If there's one thing I know about Naruto, it's that he can see through anyone and everyone… It's just that most of the times, he chooses not to. He knows what he's got himself into. If anything, he'll make them respect him. Heh. I should know…" He was awarded by a small, sad smile from the pink haired girl. She turned her head, looking into to the onyx eyes of the Uchiha with her jade green ones.

"Thank you, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn. Don't worry, Sakura. Someday, I'll bring back that idiot, even if I have to beat his head into the ground and drag his sorry ass back to Konoha… I'll still get him back."

"No," said the pink haired girl, her smile growing bigger, "_We_ will bring him back… Together. And all who wish to come with us… We'll get back Naruto… kun…" Surprisingly, the Uchiha boy smiled. Not smirked, but smiled. Although filled with sadness, it was a smile all the same.

"Of course, Sakura… We will bring him back… Together…"

…

"Iruka… Don't worry. He's a bright kid. A bit bratty, but smart all the same. If anyone, you should know this. So stop being so damned down all the time, okay? Here's what, I'll even let you come to a research trip with me sometime next week, 'kay?"

Iruka let out a dry chuckle, shaking his head from side to side. "No… That's quite all right, Jiraiya-sama… But I understand what you mean. Naruto… I hope he will be safe until we can go get him back. How much time, Jiraiya-sama, before you will be ready?"

"I… I'm not sure, but give me about two years, not only me, but also Sakura and Sasuke. It'll be easier if they come along, and there will be less bloodshed that way."

"I… Yes, Jiraiya-sama."

"Now, are you sure you don't want to come on one of my research trips?"

"Hahaha. I… I'm quite sure, Jiraiya-sama."

"Well… your loss!"

……………

The Sandaime was sitting in his office, looking up at the four portraits of the four Hokage that had reigned over Konohagakure no Sato. He turned his head to the picture to the far right, a blonde man with spiky shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a bright smile. He was beaming down upon the now old man, whose face was worn more than ever from the constant stress ever since the attack upon Konohagakure on Sato by Orochimaru.

He let out a slow, long sigh, closing his eyes.

"Kazama Arashi… Yondaime Hokage-sama… I'm sorry… I've lost Naruto… to Akatsuki… The promise… I am sorry… Although broken now, I will reprimand it, Arashi… Please, forgive me… I will make sure he grows to be a powerful shinobi, just like his father… Naruto… Please be safe…"

……………

A/N: Well, that was a surprisingly short chapter. I wanted to elaborate more, but it gives you a basic understanding of what the characters went through after Naruto's leave. I'm not sure what I'll do with the plot line, whether I will go ahead with a time skip, or spend a few more chapters on Konoha's desperate attempt at trying to bring back Naruto… Please leave me a few comments, telling me what you think. Also, I will not elaborate on Naruto's training with Akatsuki, for that will be slowly revealed as the story goes by… Also, when I get around to actually installing Photoshop on my computer, I will scan several pictures I drew and will draw, depicting the changes of several of our heroes in the story… Maybe.


	26. Update

**Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.**

**A/N: Eh… This isn't really a chapter… Actually, an update/poll thingy to find out what all you people out there think. First of all, I'll update you guys on the situation. You see, I'm thinking for Naruto's return, I should make a doujinshi. I can't say it'll be the best, but I must say, I'm a decent artist. So, anyways, because of that, I'm working on character designs & etc. for the doujinshi. But, until I get around to the actual drawing the doujin and putting it up, I won't update the story with any useful chapters. However… Here comes the poll thingy… If you guys want, I can add some fillers of sorts, while I work, or so to speak. I'm not sure how long the doujin will take me, but I'm guessing a good couple of months… So yeah. You guys can leave a review telling me what you think… And, as a side note, I will not be changing my mind about the doujinshi. So, thanks. **


	27. Dojinshi Update 1

**UPDATE: Hey all you faithful readers out there. I hope I haven't lost any of you. Anyways, this is just an update, telling you to go to my deviantART account (my homepage in my profile) and go to the scraps section. There, you will find the rough draft of the first page of the dojinshi. I'm sorry, but everything will be explained there (such as why it was released so late, etc). Anyways, feedback would be nice. Comments/reviews, too. So, thanks.**


	28. Return

A/N: You know what, I think you all can shoot me hands out guns to all I've broken my promise to you. I have had no time to work on my dojinshi at all, and now I realize, I don't think I ever will; at least, not for years to come. So, in the mean time, please enjoy my writings. I'm so sorry!!!

**-Return-**

……………

**A sandaled foot fell to the ground. The gravel beneath the foot crunched, and maybe a branch broke every once in a while under the falling feet.**

'Heh… It's been a while since I've been there… I wonder how they're all doing…' 

**The figure, clad in all black, reached into his hip pouch. Said figure pulled out a hitai-ate, hand wrapped around the metal protective part of the hitai-ate.**

'_**I wonder… will it still fit me?'**_

**Reaching around the back of his head, the figure tied the hitai-ate.**

'**_Hn? It's… gotten bigger? …'_ He couldn't help but smile. _'Itachi-san… Kisame-san… You've always been looking out for me… Even now, you watch out for me… Thank you… I swear… I'll make you PROUD!!!'_**

……………

"**Sakura…"**

"**Hn?"**

"**Sakura-chan…"**

"**Naruto? Is that you, Naruto?"**

"**Sakura-chan!"**

**There he was. Standing in the gate, the light behind him hid his features, but his shining golden hair made it known to all who he was.**

"**NARUTO-KUN!" Sakura couldn't help but yell in joy as she ran to him, tears of joy flowing from her eyes. As she drew closer to him, she could see that his arms were open, ready to hug her. After what felt like an eternity, she finally reached him. She fell happily into his arms, taking in his scent. He smelled very nice… Like… like…**

SCHLOK 

**Sakura felt something plunge into her back. Something sharp… And painful…**

"**I hope you have a nice time in hell… wench…"**

**Sakura felt herself plunging into darkness… The world falling down around her…**

"**_Gasp_!" Sakura woke with a start. She looked around her surroundings. No flaming limestone… no one was screaming in bloody pain… Nope. This was definitely her room.**

"**I… I think I need to take a walk…"**

……………

"**Y-you… you're…"**

"**Hn?"**

"**C-could it be… That you're…"**

"**Hmm… Maybe… Hehe… If baa… I mean… If Tsunade-sama wants to see me… I'm sure she'll know where to find me…"**

"**But!"**

……………

"**_Sigh_… Naruto… It's been… exactly three years, this day… That you left us… Why, Naruto, why?" Sakura said aloud, more to herself than anyone. How surprised was she when she actually received an answer.**

"**Hmm… I thought I made it obvious when I left, Sakura."**

"**N-Naruto?"**

"**Heh. So you didn't forget about me after all… Sakura…"**

**Sakura turned around to find Naruto standing there. This was so unlike anything she had imagined. She had always imagined that she'd be in beautiful clothes, looking her best, waiting for him as he returned battle-weary, having fought his way out of the Akatsuki's grasps… She looked herself over, and realized what a mess she was. Her hair was disheveled, her shirt was stained with what appeared to be blood (probably from her shift at the hospital only hours ago), her biker shorts were faded in color, and she thought she identified several small holes in very awkward areas on her clothes.**

**Naruto, on the other hand, looked great. As opposed to the screaming orange and blue jumpsuit that he wore when he left, he was now clad all in black. His black coat reached down slightly past his knees, and underneath that, he wore loose black pants that hung down to his ankles and a plain black shirt. His black sandals and black hitai-ate all came together to form a very black-clad Naruto.**

"**Naru… Naruto… Naruto!" Sakura yelled, falling into, what she hoped would be, Naruto's arms. Instead, she felt herself only falling forward. She quickly stepped forward, and stopped herself from falling face-flat and embarrassing herself. She looked up to find Naruto walking calmly away. "Naru…to?"**

"**Feh. You…"**

"**Naruto…" Sakura could feel the hot liquids forming behind her eyes. She fought desperately… yet, she could feel the betraying tears rolling down her cheeks… "N-Naruto…"**

……………

**A/N: Yeaaahh… A long time since I've updated, eh? Well… like I said, feel free to shoot me. Yeah.**


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